Team Epic
by Ramaxy18-chan
Summary: "Go Epic!" Silence. "That's…That's a Magikarp…" "So? His name is Epic." "HAHAHAHA! That's the best joke I ever heard! You're hilarious girl!" Just so you know, I hate it when people laugh at me or any of my pokemon. My name is Ariann Roman and this is my epic journey. OC fic. First pokemon fic.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I stared at my mother and father with a scowl as I clutched the pokeball in my hand. They were glaring daggers at me also, their brows turned down in anger.

"_What_ did you say…" I heard my father ask me with a hiss that will put an ekans to shame. I glowered at him, not backing down, surprising him a little by my resistance. I usually don't get into trouble, so they only see me as a submissive little growlithe at its master's command. But that was over. This was the new me.

"I said that I want to become a pokemon Trainer," I repeated myself, while trying to sound a little confident in myself. I was doing a pretty good job at it.

"B-But why? You-You have such a future with your grades! You are very intelligent, sweety!" That was my mom. "And where did you get a pokemon?!"

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback <strong>

A blonde twelve-years-old girl walked down the path of Sandgem Town's Supermarket, looking bored at the weather. It was raining slightly, and the sun was trying to come out without any accomplishment from its part. The girl sighed and changed the bags full of food to her other hand. It was starting to get annoying carrying these bags. Ever since her Big Brother left on his own adventure around Sinnoh, she was the one that had to buy all the groceries when her parents were out. And it wasn't fun.

"Watch out!" The girls clear-brown eyes widened as a man knocked her to the ground not-so-gently. She glared at him hatefully and he just fidgeted nervously. Then, his eyes fell on the girl he has just bumped into while running. Looking once more around him, and seeing no one around, he nodded to himself in determination. "G-Girl, look. I-I need you to do me a-a big favor, o-okay?" The blonde girl stared at him, studying him. Her round eyes where full of innocence, yet intelligence. She was taking her time and time was the only thing that he didn't have. "Please, some people are after me! I-I just want you to save him!"

The girl blinked at the man confused, noticing that there wasn't anyone else with him. Then she asked, "Him who?"

He fished a pokeball out of his bag and pressed it into her palm with shaking hands. She gazed at it as if wondering whether to give it back or to keep it. With a start she recalled that her parents didn't want her to have any pokemon. With an anxious shake of her head, she made to give the man his pokeball back, only to notice he was running away once again.

"Hey!" She shot up to follow him but sudden gunshots stopped her in her tracks. She froze on the spot; silence filled the road of the peaceful town as the sun finally came out from behind the rainclouds. She looked down at the pokeball.

Now what? Should she keep it, or just give it to the police?

The blonde sighed yet again while minimizing the metallic ball and pocketing it on her coat pocket in one swift motion.

Begrudgingly, she continued to her house, deciding to not involve herself in other's business.

Later she realized that she was stuck with a magikarp,(it just _had_ to be a magikarp) that wasn't owned by any trainer and that the police refused to keep. Her parents wouldn't like that. _That_ much was obvious…

But, what could go wrong if she kept it? Well, it needed a home, and it wasn't like the fish pokemon would go all murderous on them…Yet.

She flopped down on the floor with a sigh, hearing the content _'karp, karp'_ noises coming from where the red pokemon was swimming at the bathtub. She smiled slightly.

* * *

><p>One week later the same girl lay on her bed, contemplating the possibilities of becoming a pokemon trainer. She has been thinking for the past week ever since obtaining the Fish Pokemon. It was weak, she knew that, but she believed (after spending some time with the fish) that one day it would evolve into an EPIC gyarados. And she had other few pokemon in mind that could make a pretty strong team. The only problem was her parents. They won't let her go like her brother had. Apparently she was 'too frail, better at books and studies'… But maybe they'd accept her choice? <em>Could <em>they accept her choice?

And so, Ariann Roman, spent the last four months of her normal life, wondering if there was a way she could convince her parents on becoming a pokemon trainer without breaking their hearts (which there _had_ to be…)… and that she already had a starter whom she called Epic… and that said starter was a magikarp…

…Yeah, she'll have to try _very_ hard to convince them.

Just in case, she decided to spent those four months learning about pokemon and trying to train her magikarp a little… which didn't go very well…

_"__Epic, use tackle on that bidoof!" The magikarp stared at her in confusion before the bidoof tackled it to the ground. Ariann let out a panicked command saying, "Do something!" To her utterly displeasure, her magikarp splashed and was knocked out. And that, my folks, was her first pokemon battle._

But she was sure that they could overcome their weaknesses… if they tried hard enough.

She sighed as her magikarp was knocked out, _again_, by a starly this time. She kicked the bird in frustration and went back to her house to wait for Epic's recovery.

Yes, they'll have to try _very_ hard indeed.

* * *

><p><strong>Actuality<strong>

"I found him. He's mine now," I told her, staring at her in indifference. I wasn't going to back down. If worse came to worst, I will run from my house and start my journey myself. With or without their support. A lot of kids did this, so I could try it too.

"Ariann, you know you don't want this," my father told me seriously. I glanced at him sharply.

"I have waited months for this to happen, and now that is finally my birthday, you won't grant me my sole wish? You _won'_t let me go?" I told him icily. I knew I hit a spot when I saw him flinch. Now was my chance, "Dad, you know I love you guys, and Big Brother too, but I want to travel and have an epic team and, well,_ live_." Dad never went traveling because he was always scared of the aggressive world we live in, so he works as a cop in our small town where he can fight off crime and protect his small family. And even though all of the officers have pokemon, never in my life have I seen my father's partner. "Please." I used my final resource, my trump card. I never plead, and my parents knew that. Maybe I could change their mind…

Father let out a defeated sigh and I smiled slightly. I was happy, but I knew it would come to this when I used the magic words (not really, but _who cares?_ I get to travel!).

"Okay, you can go," he told me and I patted his head in thanks. Finally, I will be a trainer.

The moment my parents signed for my trainer ID at the pokemon Center at Sandgem town, I took off on my own journey. Ready to meet new people and pokemon alike. Ready to face off life. Ready to _live._

Ready to find my Epic Team.

I smiled slightly at my thoughts, rolling Epic's pokeball in the palm of my hand (I forgot to properly introduce him to my family. I made a mental note to do so when we met later. Hopefully, _years_ later). My course would take me north, away from my house in Sandgem town and towards route 202. I have never been on route 202 before so I was looking at the grass and trees and paths in curiosity, never forgetting to keep an eye out for any potentially epic pokemon that I could add to my soon-to-be-Epic Team. Instead I found a few other pokemon which I avoided, since Epic was probably stronger than them. I kept walking without a care, not actually paying attention anymore. That is until I found myself at a trainer's mercy.

"Hey! I challenge you to a Pokemon battle!" I heard him shout at me. I studied him. He seemed to be more experienced than I was and was _surely_ more experienced than most of the pokemon around…

"Sure," I told him, since I needed some experience battling more people instead wild pokemon. I read somewhere that battles against trainers were different than battles against wild pokemons, so hopefully that wasn't true. Because I'll be screwed.

He grinned at me and took out a chimchar. I threw Epic's pokeball, while shouting, "Go Epic!" After Epic was out (and flailing, or bouncing or whatever he does), I heard the boy snicker.

"You called your magikarp Epic?! That's hilarious!" I glared at him. How _dare_ he mock my pokemon?! And not only my pokemon, but _my naming sense_ too! Now I see why trainers get so heated up while battling other trainers…

"They evolve into gyarados, you know!" I shouted at him, trying to show some confidence and some experience (which I obviously didn't have). He just smiled and told me instead, "Let's start now, hm?" I narrowed my eyes at him before turning towards Epic.

"Listen up Epic, today we're going to have our first official pokemon battle. Let's do our best, okay?" I told him seriously. After all, my first pokemon battle may decide whether our journey will be easy or simply a pain in the butt. And it will also decide whether training for three months on the same route was good or just for nothing.

I stood up and yelled.

"Epic, use Tackle!" The only problem was that my magikarp was too slow compared with the Fire pokemon. The chimchar dodged the charge that my magikarp made and scratched him instead.

"Chim, use scratch again!" The chimchar went running towards Epic and I took that opportunity to shout an order at him.

"Epic use Tackle!"My pokemon complied and gave the chimchar a powerful tackle before it could lay a claw on him. "Good Epic, now use Tackle again!"

"Chim, use ember!" I froze as I saw my pokemon almost get torched by the ember the chimchar used. If Epic hadn't jumped at the right time…

Suddenly an idea popped in my head. We had used the combo only one time successfully, so maybe we can pull out another trick…

"Epic, come here!" Epic looked at me in confusion and then started to jump towards me. My opponent ordered his pokemon to attack before Epic could reach me though. Just as I expected.

"Epic turn!"

"Chim, use ember!" The chimchar ran towards us and I waited for the right timing. As the chimchar opened his mouth to let out the famous ember attack, I shouted,

"Epic, use Splash then Tackle!" I saw Epic make a big jump, and fall a step behind the chimchar, missing the ember completely. Then before it could react, Epic tackled it to the ground. It groaned but made to stand up again and before I could command anything, Epic tackled it to the ground again. This repeated itself two more times before I heard the trainer say…

"Okay, I forfeit. Call back your Magikarp." I stared incredulously at the trainer. Then I smiled, looking back at Epic and running towards him in happiness. We have won our first pokemon battle!

"Wow, Epic! That was so…so…so epic!" My magikarp just stared at me happily, constantly making _'karp, karp'_ noises. "I'm so proud!" Okay, I usually don't hug people (unless it's my Big brother. My mom used to tease me saying that I have a brother complex. Which I don't have… I swear…) or pokemon for the matter, but I just couldn't stop myself! I hugged Epic and, before I could praise him again, the other trainer interrupted me.

"Nice battle," he told me smiling. I returned Epic reluctantly and nodded at him. "You have a good strategy there. Very nice. How many badges do you have?" he asked, truly interested. I hesitated. Okay, I didn't have any badges, but he could steal from me if I said I had no experience of being a trainer… "I assure you I am not gonna steal anything. I'm not a thief. See? I have my own three badges," he told me, laughing a little at my hesitation. Then he showed me his three badges: Oreburgh's, Eterna's and Veilstone's.

"Wow, you have so many..." I couldn't help but be awed by the three little badges this stranger had. One day, I'll have all eight of them.

"Yeah, yeah, can't pass Wake though," he told me smiling sheepishly. "So, now I'm training my team with a new addition." I guessed he was talking about his chimchar.

"Well…I don't have any badges. I'm a newbie," I told him sincerely, while secretly hoping that he was telling the truth. If not, I could always kick him where my Father told me that always hurt the most.

"Damn, then you're good! And your magikarp, Epic was it?" At my nod, he continued, "That fish is strong!"

"Yeah, well, I have to go. I want to get to Jubilife before it gets dark," I told him starting to walk the road towards Jubilife city. If I can get there before dark, then I may be able to get to Oreburgh in three days and get my first gym badge! Well, I will still need to train, but it shall be fine. I heard footsteps behind and soon I found that the trainer was walking. _Behind me_. Now tell me if that doesn't scream thievery or assault?

"Why are you following me?" I asked him, looking back at him. He just smiled. He seemed to be one of those good guys that always hurt the girl the worst in the movies. This guy was dangerous…

"Well, you knocked out Chim so I guess I have to go to the Pokemon Center." I looked at him in suspicion while putting my hand in my shorts, where Epic's pokeball was. If he really was a thief, then he was getting nowhere near my Epic. He noticed this and put his hands up defensively. "I'm serious!"

"Yeah, well, I don't know you," I told him bluntly. He looked crestfallen at my words. I sighed irritated and made some thinking. Being with an experienced three-badged trainer may give me some advantage. I maybe could watch and learn some of his battle strategies. Nodding mentally to myself, I decided that it was okay.

"Okay, whatever. We can travel together," I told him, and then as an afterthought added, "But our priority is Oreburgh."

"Oreburgh?"

"I don't plan on staying too much time on a city that doesn't have a Gym Leader," I told him referring to Jubilife City. He seemed to understand me; after all, he _was_ a trainer. Maybe when he was going to get his first badge he was thinking the same thing.

"Well, I'm Rick, nice to meet ya," the boy, Rick, told me with a fox-like grin. I noticed now that he had clear brown eyes just like mine as well as dark brown-hair, quite unlike my own long blonde tresses. He was small for a boy, about the same height as me.(Not that I was small or anything!*lying*)

"My name is Ariann Roman. I hope we can be comrades," I told him with all sincerity. He smiled and was about to tell me something but a black blur leaped at us snarling.

It was a luxio.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A wild luxio leaped at us and snarled, it's fur crackling with electricity. I instantly leaped back, out of the way and took out Epic's pokeball. Then I hesitated. What if something happened to Epic? What if Epic…died?

"Lux!"

I looked at the Luxio as it charged towards me, ready to bite. I quickly moved into a position to give it a hard kick. Before it could reach me a pretty gray bird tackled it. Thankfully it changed targets, forgetting me for a moment. I let out a sigh of relief. I could've died. Now I know why my parents didn't want be to go on my journey.

"Are you okay Ariann?" I heard Rick call to me while giving orders to his staravia to fight. I nodded at him, though I doubted he was paying any attention at me at the moment. "Damn, that luxio is strong. Send out Epic, I bet he can protect you." He told me. I nodded and hesitantly send out Epic. After all, I have never been in a life or death situation and even if I did survive, there was still the chance that my starter will die. He jumped and then stared at me. He seemed to be a little confused that he wasn't battling an opponent at the moment. I took a deep breath and told him,

"Look Epic, that luxio over there is trying to kill me and Rick. I don't want you to get hurt badly, so just protect us if necessary." I winced as the luxio knocked out Rick's Staravia with a Spark attack. Shinx in this area didn't know electric attacks, but this luxio seemed to know a few of them. I heard Rick curse as he returned his bird and took out a great ball. I saw the luxio about to leap at him and called out a warning but the luxio too fast. It lunged forward and bit his arm. The great ball fell to the floor as he tried to pry luxio from his arm.

"Epic, use Splash and then Tackle!" I shrieked at my magikarp. Yes, I was scared, and I was losing my cool rapidly. What if Rick died? What if his pokemon died? What if Epic died?

What if I died?!

Epic attacked the luxio. It staggered, letting go of Rick, and snarling a 'lux' at Epic. It growled, its tail lashing behind angrily before it leaped at Epic, trying to bite him.

" Splash!" Epic splashed, but the luxio was clever and waited for the right time to use a spark on my pokemon. I screamed out "tackle!" when I saw the luxio charge up with electricity, but I already knew my magikarp wouldn't be able to do anything except take the hit. I knew he was going to get KO-ed the moment I saw the move coming. After Epic fainted, the luxio bit at him ferociously, drawing blood from my pokemon. If I didn't stop it, it will surely kill and then eat my magikarp. I wasn't going to let that happen.

"Stop!" I ran towards my Pokemon, ready to fight the luxio myself. Before the luxio could do something more than snarl at me I kicked the electric pokemon on the head. It must've been either a really powerful kick or maybe the luxio was really hurt, because it landed on the ground unconscious. I went towards Epic and saw that he had some places eaten up or mainly chewed on. I returned him hastily, feeling tears sting in my eyes, and stood up to go. Epic has never been so wound up in a battle. I-I wonder what I should do…Maybe…Maybe if I get to Jubilife in time I could save him….but for now, his pokeball should be the safest place for him to be.

"Are you okay?" I heard Rick ask, snapping me from my thoughts. Right, Rick was injured too. I nodded.

"I am. B-But Epic! He-he was shocked and bitten and chewed and-" I cut myself off, wiping the tears from my eyes. I didn't even notice when I started crying. Not that I cared. I only needed to take Epic to the Center. I needed to save him. I looked back at Rick and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Just a little bite, though I'll have to check and see if it is infected." I nodded at him and started to walk away. After all, Epic was dying (for all I knew) and I was just a sitting psyduck. I needed to start moving. Then I noticed that Rick wasn't following. "Rick? You need to go to the Center too." I was just being kind, because he could stay for all I cared and I will leave either with or without him.

"Aren't you…aren't you gonna catch it?" he asked me, looking at the unconscious luxio. I stared at nothing as my mind gears started to move. I could use a strong Electric type pokemon…and luxios were kind of epic too! But…that attitude…It just attacked out of nowhere. It could be fixed, but it'll be troublesome. Well, it will be worth a try. If it tried another thing, I will just have to kick him again until it understood who was in charge.

"I think I will-"I cut myself off as I remembered a _very_ important fact. I didn't have any pokeballs. I mentally jumped over a cliff. Stupid, Idiot, Blonde! How could I forget the pokeballs?! I sighed dejectedly, accepting the fact that I wouldn't be able to catch a luxio today. "I think I'll give it to you. It will be useful against Crasher Wake," I lied to him, while mourning the lost (once again) of a potential epic teammate. Rick looked surprised at first, but then smiled widely.

"Seriously?! Thanks! I'll repay you in any way I can!" he told me, while I just nodded. He took out a great ball, one I didn't have, and caught the passed out pokemon. "Now, what to name it…"

"I'll wait for you at the Center," I muttered while starting to run towards Jubilife City.

"Right," he said seriously as he ran besides me. We ran towards Jubilife city, avoiding all battles on route 202. And that was the first time(and I hoped last too) that I made a record time to get from route 202 to Jubilife city. I mean, I only took 10 minutes! The doors to the Center opened, and I immediately ran towards the counter where a Nurse Joy was waiting.

"Please! C-Can you save him?" I pleaded (once again in the same day and only because this was an emergency) while panting from my mad sprint from route 202 to the Center. I didn't even wait to see if Rick was running with me or not, but now I noticed that he wasn't in the Center with me.

She smiled at me and said a "Sure". She took Epic's pokeball and I was left waiting in the lobby.I hoped with all my heart that my Fish pokemon was fine. After all, we've been together for almost four months! Four months of hiding him from my parents and training him in secret. Four months to change my opinion about being a pokemon trainer. That was all it took. Four months, and I was now losing my precious starter.

Maybe I should've stayed home after all…

Minutes later, Rick came in, gasping for air, leaning into the counter.

"What took you so long?" I asked while twirling a blonde strand of my hair in anxiousness. Epic was still being treated and I didn't know of his condition, but a though was still nagging at my mind. If I haven't left…

"How…did you…get here…so fast?!" he demanded between pants while giving his pokeballs to the other nurse in the counter. I stared at him as if it was obvious.

"My pokemon was dying."

"I know! But-you know what, forget it," he told me, pouting and sitting beside me. I continued to play anxiously with my hair.

"Are you…okay?" Rick asked me, looking as if he was approaching a hissing glameow. Which I wasn't. I was totally fine. Just a little worried about Epic, but aside from that I was super fine. I knew he will be fine, so I was fine. As long as he was fine, I'm fine. Totally fine.

"Ariann Roman?"

I stoop up lightning fast and walked stiffly towards the Center's Counter.

So maybe I wasn't totally fine.

I saw Nurse Joy with a single pokeball in her hand, the smile in her face was a relief to see.

"Your magikarp is fine. He has a few pieces cut off from him, but they'll grow back." She crooned, and I let a smile adorn my face. Epic was alive! He was okay… I felt like I could tear up any second now… "You better watch out with whom you battle though, okay?" I nodded.

"A wild luxio attacked us," I told her.

"Oh, that explains it all. Luxios are very rare in these parts of Sinnoh. What happened to it? Don't tell me you…" before she could even make the implication, I shook my head hastily. No. No way in hell I will kill another pokemon. Not after almost loosing Epic. Or so I thought.

"It was caught by my…friend." The word tasted weird in my mouth. Sure, we were partners, but were we really friends? Speaking of the Devil…"Oh! His arm was bitten by the wild luxio!" I told her while motioning Rick to come with my hand. He came with a frown on his face, but then Joy took his arm and inspected it.

"Well, it isn't deep, so it will heal quickly. I will have to give you some medicine in case of infection though…" With that they both left me with my dear pokemon. I let out my magikarp and observed him. He would be the same splashing fish as always if it weren't for the missing scales and pieces of his fins…

I fell to my knees in front of him and scooped him into my arms. He stood still while looking at me.

"karp? Karp karp!" he cried while rubbing his body against my chest in affection. I petted him, letting some of my tears fall on him. If he hadn't come with me, he would be fine now. If he hadn't come with me, he would've probably be swimming in my bathtub or in the river. If it weren't for me…

"Maybe if I release you…you will be happier…Do you want to be free?"I asked him, ignoring the pain in my chest and my analytical part of me that was screaming at me for being such a sentimental skitty. And I knew I was being stupid. I mean, who would release their starter? Their first and (in my case) only pokemon? I just wanted him to know that I won't force him to do anything he didn't want to. It was practically my fault for leaving home anyway. I felt tears in my eyes yet again(maybe the tears I didn't cry for my parents were coming out now) as I watched him wriggle from my grasp and land on the floor, splashing away from me.

I guess Epic didn't want me as his trainer after all.

**Beta'ed by Rosezelene Ersa**


	3. Chapter 3

**Beta'ed by Rosezelene Ersa**

Chapter 3

I bit back a sob as I watched Epic splash away from me, feeling utterly rejected. My brother always used to tell me that I was a sentimental crybaby, but I didn't believe him. Now, I could see that my strong façade was failing and I wouldn't be able to hold it in much longer. I wanted to stay strong for him, to reassure him that I was strong, that I would be fine without him (even though I knew I probably wouldn't) . He splashed a few feet away from me, and then turned back to face me. I saw him use a big splash in form of an arc towards me, it surprised me. But what surprised me more was the sharp turn he made to give me a hard tail-slap across my face. The sheer strength of it made me turn my face to the side. And damn, it hurt. But I didn't dare to do anything. I stood there, frozen, while my face felt hot (from the hit or embarrassment, I didn't know) and I felt something sliding down the side of my face. I ignored it until Epic faced me again. This time, he was looking at me rigidly.

'Magi, Magikarp!' I gaped at him in surprise. If he was looking at me with such determination and annoyance then that meant…

"You want to stay with me…?" I asked, silently hoping that my intelligence wouldn't fail me in my guess. Epic nodded and jumped towards me, rubbing his scales against my chest. I hugged him tight (not too tight because he was injured) and whispered to him only, "I'm sorry all this had to happen Epic. I'm sorry I was so stupid. I'm sorry that I might have offended you… I won't release you, okay? Even if you plead me for life, I won't!" I was kidding. If he wanted to be released-even if it pained me-I wouldn't cut the freedom of my own pokemon. Now that I think about pokemon… "Epic, how about we catch a new teammate?"

'karp!'

"Well, we can check tomorrow. Not now, since you're injured and all. Where had I read that water-type pokemon heal better in water? I don't know, but we can experiment," I told him, planning already to get him in the bathtub of the pokemon Center for the night. I hugged him one more time and whispered to him, "I'm glad you didn't leave me…" I returned my magikarp to its pokeball and went to the counter (after cleaning my face a little) and made a reservation for one night at the pokemon center.

"You want the free or Giga rooms?" I stared at her, since I didn't know what the hell 'Giga' means. She seemed to notice my stare and laughed sheepishly, "Oh! Sorry, you're a beginner I guess. Free rooms are the ones that we give to trainers for sleep. You have to pay for Giga, but they're so big that you can fit an onix there!" I nodded. Well, it made sense. There were sometimes teams that were so big that they wouldn't fit in a normal room…

"I'll take the free one." After I received my key I made my way towards my new (temporary) room. Though before I could get there I spotted a very familiar dark-brown haired teen… and he was…crying?!

"What happened?" I immediately asked. What if one of his pokemon had died? (I doubt that but still...) I know that somewhere I read that losing a pokemon can end a trainer's career; because the guilt simply can destroy them. But even worse, what if he just knows that he caught a disease and he is dying? I waited for my friend to come towards me, he was shaking so madly…

"Needles," he told me, rubbing his arm with a wince. I was quick to understand, sighing quietly in relief. Rick was just scared of needles. That explained it all. I saw him look at me with a frown, as if he has finally noticed me, and asked,

"What the heck happened to your face?" I frowned and went to check my face in one of the glass doors of the Center. True to his words (and my earlier suspicions), my cheek was red, and there were some little cuts and blood on my cheek. I seriously didn't know that Epic's tail fins were that sharp… I turned back towards Rick and told him bluntly,

"My pokemon bitch-slapped me with his tail-fin for being such a worry seed." Rick laughed at that, and soon enough, I found myself smiling slightly. Yes, now that I realize it, it was hilarious. Later, I bid him goodbye (since his pokemon were still healing) and went to my room. It was small, but welcoming nevertheless. I couldn't help but think of how many trainers had stayed in this same room, maybe days ago. Or even hours.

I put my bag on the floor beside my bed and went to take a shower. Then I realized that as well as forgetting the pokeballs, I forgot my pajamas. I had to compromise on some shorts and a white plain sleeveless shirt. I then released Epic and offered the bathtub for him to sleep, which he took without complaint.

After putting Epic In the tub I fell into bed and started to think. I had come to Jubilife in just one day. That was an accomplishment, right? I expect to be on Oreburgh in three days, maybe four. I sighed and closed my eyes. Soon I fell asleep from my tired-yet exciting-day.

/line/

I felt something wet touch my face. I groaned, but didn't stand up. Then, it registered that I was alone and …what the hell was touching me?! I opened my eyes hastily only to be tackled by something that knocked the wind out of me. I winced in pain, groaning and looking at the thing that was thrown in my way. My eyes met red…

I think I almost died of a panic attack that day.

Epic was just inches away from my face, looking at me with his weird eyes and doing something even weirder with his whiskers. He seemed unbothered by my nearly-lethal-panic attack. Stupid fish, scared the hell out of me.

I pushed him off of me and sat up. I sighed loudly as I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I decided that, yes, I should stand up and go change. So that's what I did. I left the white sleeveless shirt, but changed the shorts out for some baggy pants. I returned Epic and grabbed my bag. To my surprise it was very early, around six or seven in the morning, and I still had to eat. The Center didn't give breakfast until eight, and I was especially hungry since I didn't eat anything yesterday. Epic hasn't eaten either. I definitely wasn't going to wait until eight for hospital food (because that's what it tasted like). Maybe I should go to a Café…

"Let's wake up Rick then…" I muttered to myself as I walked towards Rick's room. Casualties or Destiny? Probably the first one. Now standing outside his door, I wondered if I should wake him up or not… I shrugged. If I woke up this early, then he had to wake up early too. I knocked on his door, waiting for his response. After a few seconds, I heard a faint groan from his side of the door, followed by a shriek. I wondered, amused, what happened in there. Then I heard a 'click' as the door opened. I had to resist the urge to laugh in his face.

Rick was wearing the sleepy face one always has when woken up. His hair was all messed up, ruffled and filled with feathers and small things. (Apparently his staravia had made a nest out of his head while he was asleep.) A shallow scratch rode just under his left eye, though thankfully it wasn't bleeding. I suppose it was mostly superficial.

"You look hilarious," I told him with a small smile. He stared at me with a deadpan face and asked rather annoyed, "What do you want?"

I raised a brow amused at his attitude. It seemed like Rick wasn't a morning person.

"I want to go eat so that we can buy some supplies. I plan to leave today, you know," I told him. His eyes widened as if he just remembered that our goal was Oreburgh.

"You want to go now?!"

"After eating and buying some supplies." I nodded. My priority was to buy pokeballs; I needed them in case I find another pokemon for the team. Rick sighed and muttered something that resembled 'wait a minute'. One minute turned into ten and when he came out he was the same person I met at route 202.

"Let's go," I told him while he nodded and out we went.

We went to a very cheap Café at Jubilife city and bought ourselves and our pokemon some food. I ordered some berries for Epic- since that's what I have been feeding him since we met- and I ordered myself an omelet. Rick said that his team ate yesterday and that they didn't need to eat until later. After we finished we went to the Pokemon Mart of Jubilife city.

"You will need some Hiker Boots," Rick told me, holding a pair of black boots in his hands. I stared at them and then at him, asking the obvious.

"Um, Why?"

He rolled his eyes, irritated. Maybe Rick really wasn't a morning person. I'm just glad that he just didn't snap at me.

"You just passed the easiest and shortest route of all Sinnoh. We will be going to Route 203 now, which is pretty long. Also, there's a cave that connects Jubilife and Oreburgh. It's a long way to go, so believe me, you want these," he finished, shoving the boots at me. I nodded and took them after his explanation. What he said was, after all, true. Maybe I was too cocky by just passing the first route in only one day…

"What else do you think you'll be needing?" he asked me, looking around the store for something that may catch his eye.

"Pokeballs," I answered bluntly. I was in desperate need of pokeballs. The small things were, after all, the reason why I only had one pokemon instead of two. What if I missed the chance of catching another possible epic teammate?! I must have made a face when I said it, because Rick burst out laughing.

"You don't have pokeballs? Well, that's new. Newbies tend to have lots of them just to catch every pokemon that they come across with." He chuckled and then he froze, a look of understanding crossing his face. I frowned at him, and he just narrowed his clear brown eyes at my own. "Why didn't you tell me that you didn't have pokeballs? I could've given you one of mines and you could've caught the luxio." I winced and looked away.

"I-It's not like I wanted a luxio…" I lied. Because I really could use an addition to my team. And luxios were good battlers and all. "And besides, you needed him more that I did." At least that was true.

"Her." I blinked.

" 'Her'?" I repeated confused. Rick grinned at me. He seemed to have forgotten the pokeballs' deal for a moment. Thank Arceus…

"it's a She, the luxio," he told me. I understood quickly and nodded at him. He seemed very happy with his new pokemon. "She's my very first girl!" I winced at that. The only girl… If Rick didn't catch another girl on his team, it will become a harem. Without doubts.

I went to the counter and paid for the boots, and some pokeballs (Two counts as some right?). After I paid for my things, Rick bought some potions (and gave three to me) and out we went.

"Ariann." I looked back at Rick as he called my name. We were outside the Mart and were walking towards the entrance of route 203. "I want to give you something." He stretched both his hands, where I could see four minimized pokeballs. They were all different. But from what I could recognize, I saw an Ultra ball. The other three, I didn't know.

"These are a gift of gratitude for giving me Grace," he told me. I suppose he was talking about the luxio, Grace. I didn't want to accept these pokeballs as gifts but hey, I only had two (without counting Epic's) and having four more (one of them an Ultra ball) would be sweet. "This one," he said pointing at the green pokeball with black dot-things on it, "is a Dusk ball. I think I found it on a Route, but I assure you it still works. Well, from what the guy at the Mart of Veilstone's city told me, it's very useful to catch pokemon when it's dark or in a cave." I nodded and took the small object in my hand. Rick continued, "This one is a Luxury ball. It helps to make pokemon friendly. Or so it says…" he muttered, giving me a pretty looking black pokeball with gold and red lines. He then touched another pokeball, this one was the only one left that I'd never seen. It was pale pink and had a pale blue stripe around the button and on the sides. "This is a heal ball. This one I had to buy; they're pretty cheap though. They work as normal pokeballs, but if you catch an injured pokemon with it, it will be healed."I nodded once again. These pokeballs were pretty useful. Rick then grabbed the Ultra ball, looking at me with stern eyes. "You use this one on a pokemon you are perfectly sure that you can handle, okay?" he told me seriously. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I wasn't a baby. I may be a newbie, but nothing bad will happen to me. Sure, there were some pokemons that killed their trainers, but that was, what, 1 in 100,000? I don't know, I just know that it didn't happen a lot. I nodded at him nevertheless. He gave me the last one and I pocketed them. After that, Rick grinned and grabbed my hand in excitement.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" I couldn't help but be a little excited as well. We ran towards where the gates of Jubilife city connected with Route 203.


	4. Chapter 4

**Beta'ed by Rosezelene Ersa**

Chapter 4

I hate Route 203.

Every time I saw a budew I had to either return Epic or give it a hard kick (which painted me as a monster to some of the trainers on this route). At least at route 202, the shinx didn't know any electric type moves. But these little plant pokemon did know grass type moves. And because of the type advantage, they targeted Epic and I. We were victims here! I have only been in this route for two days and I was already starting to loathe it.

Traveling on routes was just as the books described it. You had to sleep on the ground (I had a sleeping bag, so did Rick), search for food (I ate berries with Epic), and you didn't have anywhere to go to the bathroom or anything. But still, it wasn't too bad… I mean at least it wasn't raining.

I hated Route 203.

For the umpteenth time I had to help Epic in a battle against a wild pokemon.

"Take this!" I kicked the budew to tomorrow, not caring about how the possible trainers that could be watching thought of me. They probably thought I was a fucking monster. Well, anyways, Rick was doing way better than me.

Chim, his chimchar, just burnt the little pests with an ember and they scattered like bugs even though they were technically plants.

I sighed as I scooped Epic into my arms and gave him a healing potion for his wounds. This was seriously getting frustrating. My magikarp seemed to notice my frustration and tilted its head.

"Karp?"

"It's fine Epic. You did great, it's just that plants aren't good," I told him reassuringly. I released him and tried to keep an eye out so that he didn't wander too far away.

"Ariann! There's a kricketune there!" said Rick pointing at the red and black bug type pokemon. But I shook my head, because I didn't want any bug type pokemons.

"I don't like bugs," I said to him, deciding to voice out my thoughts in the matter.

"Why not?"

"They're nasty," I lied. The real reason was only for me to know.

After I looked around, I saw that Epic has ventured to one of the desolated parts of the route. Once again. I sighed and went after him. For a fish out of the water, he was very fast. I saw him about to jump away so I ran and grabbed him by his tail fin, yanking him back.

"Karp! Karp! Karp! Magikarp!"

"Just what do you think you're doing running off like that?" I asked him with narrowed eyes. Epic looked at me and went to my side to rub his body against my leg. I felt my eye twitch in irritation, because I knew that he was trying to coax me not to scold him. Even though it never worked for him, he always tried. "You run off like that again and I'll kick you like I did with the plants-" I cut myself off, as I heard a distant yelp. I started to look around, searching for the source of the noise. To my surprise, it was a woman (with some sort of bags) being attacked by a Man with two bidoofs. I wasn't about to leave a defenseless woman alone so I went quietly around the bushes , trying to think of a strategy to take the man by surprise. As I was nearing the man Rick shouted my name, alerting the man and woman of my presence. I turned to glare at him (Traitor! What side are you on?!) and walked to stand nearer to the woman. The man was frozen in place, apparently he didn't expect any company, but then he sneered at me. I simply glared at him while studying his features.

The man wasn't tall or small, wasn't built or scrawny, handsome or ugly, he was just…plain. In every way you looked at him. He was one of those people that you pass on the streets and tend to forget about the second they walk out of your line of vison.

"What are you doing?" I asked him angrily as he smirked. Well, that proved that he was a bad guy. The man took out another pokeball and I saw a mark on his hand. Wait, it wasn't a mark, it was a tattoo.

SZ

"I am here to take the pokemon from the breeder because she isn't raising them right." I glared at him, because it was obvious that he was lying. But then, he continued, "She is going to damage this world! Those creatures she breeds are monsters!" I looked back at the woman. She was in her mid to late thirties, had dark hair that was put in a bun, and forest green eyes. She was looking at me pleadingly.

"He's lying! He wanted to break all the pokemon eggs I am carrying!" She shouted.

Now that she says it, I noticed the weird bags that were behind her. They had Pokemon eggs in them. There were at least three in there…

"Those monsters you breed will destroy the world!" The man shouted, throwing the pokeball in the air and calling forth a zubat. It gave a shriek and I saw Epic move in front of me, glaring at the zubat. I watched as the bidoofs engaged in a battle with Rick's staravia, aptly named "Star", and Chim.

"You're not making any sense! We have been living with pokemon for ages… even you have pokemon! Why would they damage our world?! I admit that sometimes they go out of control, but it happens!"

"How can you trust them?! Tch, they plan to take this world all for themselves! They will kill us, humans, and harm us in every way they can!" He shouted, angry that the woman kept on saying things that it seems like he didn't want to listen. While they kept shouting at each other, I wandered off to my own thoughts. What if pokemon did want to kill the humans? Did they want to destroy us? Just to be free? Maybe just so that we don't keep killing them instead? But that couldn't be. Wouldn't then, all the big pokemons like the onix that lived peacefully at their caves or the pokemons that lived at the sea attack, society? That can't be true. Epic still stayed with me, even though I told him that he could leave. It wasn't true. I trusted pokemon. I trusted Epic, because he trusted me.

Just then, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. It was small and white…or was it green?

Then I saw it clearly.

It was a ralts.

The psychic was watching the events from afar, not too close to get involved nor too far to see or hear. As if sensing my gaze it turned towards me. Then it teleported. That's the thing about psychics. Just seeing one was difficult enough, if not extremely rare, but catching one (especially an abras or ralts) was very difficult.

"Ariann! Help the woman!" I didn't have to be told twice. I ran towards the woman with Epic in tow, But of course- life didn't go as planned.

As I neared the woman I saw the man's zubat take flight, its wings sharpening as it charged a Wing Attack. With a quick flap it went soaring towards the eggs and I froze. The man has just ordered his pokemon to end another's life. And, knowing how fragile pokemon eggs were…they wouldn't stand a chance against such a powerful attack.

They'll surely break.

The zubat closed the distance between it and the eggs, but before it could attack them, the woman stood up and took the blow herself. . The zubat went back to its master's side while she fell to the ground with a pained groan. I quickly ordered my own pokemon to attack before the man could.

"Epic, use Splash then Tackle!" That should keep them busy at the very least. I went to the woman' side as quickly as my legs could carry me, and I immediately saw the damage done. Her back had a nasty gash from where the zubat had slashed at her with its wing; the blood was coming out freely. If we were lucky, it wouldn't be a serious injury. I helped her to a kneeling position in front of her eggs, while trying not to jolt her too much. I really didn't want to have her more injured, or pained, than she was right now. "You'll be okay…" I said to her soothingly (or as soothingly as I could manage) while looking around for the battle. Rick was finished with the two bidoofs and was now calling the police while stealing glances at the situation. Epic was, sadly, fighting a losing battle. Each time he prepared to tackle the zubat to the ground, it would fly higher, away from my Fish pokemon. I could see that it was starting to irritate him, but at least he was unscratched. The woman at my side froze and I followed her gaze, locking my eyes with the barrel of a gun. I flinched a little, but refused (stupid pride will kill me someday) to look away from the man's eyes. I slowly stood up, giving no move to show submission. The man didn't notice me standing up, because he was obviously looking at the more experienced trainer (Rick) and giving him a glare.

"Take back your pokemon and don't interferre or I'll kill her," the man threatened, while Rick froze on the spot, looking over at me in horror. I really didn't understand why he was so scared, this happened all the times in movies. Rick eventually (and stupidly if you ask me) returned his pokemon and the man smirked to himself in approval. Obviously, he forgot about me. I, with my utterly amazing observation skills, noticed that the man had retreated his finger from the trigger for a moment; and a moment was all I needed. My dad and my brother always used to tell me that- while my mother told me to scream and run- a man's weak spot was in between the legs, and to hit there if I was ever attacked by a man.

And hit there I did.

I drew my leg back and kicked him as hard as I could in his manhood. He gasped and groaned and fell to the floor, whining or hissing and cursing in pain. I quickly took the gun in my hands, and stared at it. I was about to point it at him, but then I remembered that, thanks dad, you never told me how to wield a gun even though you're a cop. I decided to throw the thing away from us, making us at least a little safer. I glowered down at the man as he gaped at me, standing up and taking a few steps back.

"You-You bitch…" I heard him curse, as he pulled something familiar out of the pocket of his coat. I couldn't help but curse my luck in my head.

Great, the bastard had two guns. Perfect.

The man glared at me, pointing his new gun yet again at me. Looking at Rick, just in case he decided to move or try something fishy. I shot him a dirty look; the coward was fighting unfairly. I took a step back and put myself in front of the woman, just in case he decided to target the breeder again. The gash on her back was still bleeding, but thankfully not a lot. Maybe it wasn't as serious as it seemed…

"You know, I wasn't ordered to kill any trainers today… You know why? Because they still can reconsider which side they're in." I frowned at his words. What did he mean by today? Had he killed already? What orders? "But you know, pokemon are on the list," he said while smirking and turning his gun towards where my pokemon was still fighting. I froze as I realized just how stupid I was. Epic was in danger and I could do nothing…wait, I could do something. I had at least three options:

Option number one: I will try to return Epic, but then by the time I get the pokeball out of my pockets, Epic would've been shot already. And I wasn't going to take this plan full of flaws…

Option number two: I could run towards Epic and leave the woman without cover. Then, she will get shot by the man and killed, but Epic will be safe…no, this one doesn't sound good either.

Option number three: I could simply charge at him, kick him in the balls again and in his pained state, he will pull the trigger and shoot Epic, or me, or the woman.

Hmmmmm…

I shall go with number one then. With some minor changes of course.

"Epic, use Splash!" While my pokemon used his move, grabbing the attention of both the zubat and the man, I took out the pokeball and yelled, "Return!" A light went out of my pokeball, sucking my magikarp in it. I sighed in relief, because now my pokemon was safe… I looked back up at the man, and saw him smirking. I looked at him warily, I didn't like that smirk…

"I knew you'll return it," he said with confidence. So what if he knew that I would return Epic? At least he was safe. The man's smirked turned into a frown when he noticed my lack of reaction. "You don't seem surprised. Why is that?" I shrugged.

"You just supposed a logical reaction to the situation. Every trainer in my rightful position would've returned their pokemon. It's just common knowledge, so I don't see why you're so proud," I told him sincerely, but that only seemed to piss him off. I wonder why…

"Tch, brat… now Zubat, use Wing Attack on the eggs!" I felt dread cling to me as I saw the bat's wing sharpen. As it was nearing I tried to stand, but my feet stayed in place. I couldn't do anything due to fear. I don't know how, but a miracle happened- Just before the bat could get any closer to us, the bat was enveloped in a pinkish hue, sending it crashing in the direction contrary to its trajectory.

It was a Confusion attack.

I looked around, searching for the source of the Confusion, and I found that in front of me was the little ralts of earlier. It was covering us up, using its Confusion attacks to protect us. Maybe I could catch it… I took out a random pokeball and waited for an opening. Don't misunderstand me, I appreciated being saved and all, but I wasn't going to lose this chance.

The man, I could see, took out a pokeball too. It seems like he wanted to catch the little ralts too. So much for his 'Pokemon destroy the world' motto...

"Zubat, switch targets, use supersonic on the ralts!" The ralts used another confusion to protect itself (the timing was wrong, if you ask me) and the zubat dodged nimbly. It used a Tackle, knocking the ralts off it feet so it lay just inches away from me. Talking about an opportunity. I was about to take this heavenly chance, but the man threw his pokeball, and another pokemon came out. It was a catlike yellow thing with weird line eyes.

It was a psychic pokemon, the abra.

"Psychic pokemon are so pathetically weak…" Before he could say another thing, I threw my pokeball (it turned out to be the Heal ball that Rick gifted me) at the ralts, absorbing it in a flash of light. The man gave me a look that clearly said 'Are you serious?', but I ignored it. When I looked down, I realized that the Heal ball had stopped moving. Which meant only one thing…

I had captured my first pokemon. My second epic pokemon that will turn out to be an epic gardevoir.

I felt myself grin as I picked up the Heal ball from the ground, not quite believing that I had captured a psychic for me. I had another teammate!

I heard a click and my happiness was forced to an end.

"Y'know…you're starting to piss the fuck outta me."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I glared up and was about to retort when I heard Rick call,

"Star, use Quick Attack!" While the man was pointing his gun at me, he forgot about my dear friend. Finally someone comes to my rescue! Rick, you are the best. Rick's staravia used a Quick Attack on the gun (luckily the man didn't fire it) knocking it out of the man's grasp. I took that opportunity and tried to kick the man (maybe I'll become a ninja in the future), but he jumped backwards, avoiding my epic kick.

"Zubat, use Wing Attack—"

"Freeze!" At last! The police was here! This was the slowest rescue I ever seen in my live! "This is the police! Stop where you are!" The man cursed one last time and he looked at his abra. A second later, they both disappeared. I sighed tiredly; at last, the danger was gone… Then something grabbed me by my shoulders, shaking me.

"Are you okay? Sorry I took so long! Are you injured? Is your pokemon injured? By the way, I saw you catch a ralts, good job. But, is it okay? Are _you_ okay? I know—"

"Rick, shut up. I'm fine. Epic is fine. The ralts is fine too," I told him irritated at all his questions. Then I remembered someone that was injured… "More importantly…" I turned towards the woman to see an officer tending her injuries. I sighed until another officer came towards us with a frown on his face.

"Are both of you okay?"Rick and I nodded. He nodded back and walked back to the other officer, taking out his cell phone to call the Center I suppose. Maybe they didn't have any psychics with them…

My eyes widened and I looked at the heal ball still in my hand. I took out Epic's pokeball for him to meet his new teammate while releasing the ralts from its Heal ball. I then released Epic, who jumped towards me and rubbed his body against my legs in affection (a habit he has developed). I kneeled beside my two pokemons and petted Epic while studying the ralts before me.

It was small, smaller than Epic, and had a green-hat thingy on its head with a reed horn in it. The rest of its body was of a dull white color. I didn't notice I was staring until it started to shift uncomfortably.

"Um, well, Hello. My name is Ariann and I'm going to be your trainer from now on," I told it. It tilted its head towards the side and I didn't know what to think of its reaction. I mean, Epic was really easy to read! Maybe it was because I was newly acquaintance with this pokemon…Yup, that must be it. Because of that thought, I decided to let pass that reaction (I refuse to say 'ignore' because I didn't. I did gave ti some thought, after all.). "Now, how to name you…hmmm… how about…'Pretty'?" I think it must've understood me, because I let out a small growl-like _'Ral…'_ and shook its head. Maybe it just underestimated its beauty. "What about…Cute? Small? White?" All of those earned a growl, so they were discarded. I knew my names were starting to irritate my new pokemon because it was starting to chat with Epic, often pointing at me with its small hands and then at himself. I seriously didn't know what to do. "What about me? You keep pointing at me and then at yourself." Epic came to my side and added,

"_Karp!Karp!"_ I stared at him with a deadpan face. I was good at reading him, but this was… too much.

"You're not helping, Epic."

"_Ral,"_ I looked down at the small psychic. It pointed at me and then at itself, and then it shook its head.

"You…don't want to come with me?" I asked it. I wasn't feeling that bad about losing this pokemon (_Waaaaaaaa! I even used one of Rick's pokeballs! It isn't fair! Why?!_) but it still hurt.

"Ariann, what is wrong with the ralts?" I looked up at my brown-haired friend and then at my ralts. It looked at Rick and then started to jump and point towards Rick, nodding.

"You want to go with _him?!_" I yelled at it. There was no way in hell that I was going to lose _two_ pokemons to Rick. No uh, not happening. I shall first release it in the wild, so Rick will have to, at least, waste time and pokeballs in catching it again. The ralts facepalmed comically and shook its head. Its movements got me out of my evil thoughts; I looked at it in curiosity and asked,

"Do you want to go with me?" It shrugged, so I took that as a yes. I nodded to myself, really, really happy that I was going to keep my pokemon (even though I _didn't_ have to give it to Rick or release it before. I was just being nice. I shall never ask that question to my future pokemon. They shall cope with me and I with them.). My ralts smiled slightly.

"_Ral, Ralts._" I looked at it and it pointed at itself and then at Epic, _"Ral."_ And then it pointed at Rick. "_Ralts."_ It nodded. Then it pointed at the three of them , "_Ral,"_ and then it pointed at me and shook its head. "_Ral, Ral, Ral."_

"So, you mean that you three have something in common that I don't?" The ralts nodded and I started to think until something clicked. I was only giving girly names, since the ralts was small and girl-like. And, well, Rick, Epic and apparently the ralts were all…

"You're male!" The ralts sighed and nodded its head. He must be thinking that I probably wasn't worth its time. Well, at least now I knew what to look for… I sighed and petted his head, he looked up at me expectantly and instantly I knew that he was waiting for me to give him a name… though I couldn't think of any right now…

"How about 'Handsome'?" I ignored Rick's comment. My ralts frowned at the name, but kept quiet. I instantly knew what to call him.

"Noble," I told him. He looked at me and tilted his head. "That's your name. Noble. It means you have honor, you're respectful and kind and all the good stuff." Noble looked at me with admiration, his eyes shining in respect. I raised a brow but said nothing. Then came Epic and started to make weird noises. "Epic, meet Noble. He's our new teammate. Noble this is Epic. He's my starter and my only pokemon apart from you." My magikarp stared at Noble in curiosity for a few seconds before splashing. I didn't know what to take that action for. Let's just guess (and hope) that he's really happy.

"Trainers, may we see your license?" asked one of the policemen. Rick and I gave our IDs and the man inspected them. He nodded to himself and told us, "The woman wants to see you." I nodded in thanks and started to walk towards where the woman was being tended for her injuries. I returned Epic and Noble before we reached her. The woman smiled at me and I found myself smiling back at her in return. Right, I had saved her pokemon eggs…she must be really grateful…

"Thank you for everything! You're a very good person, both of you." I immediately noticed that she was usually one of those cheerful people. "Listen, I usually don't do this. But I want you to have one of the eggs," she told me. I felt my eyes widened and my head shaking a 'no' before I could keep myself. An egg will be good and all, but you had to take care of them. And I wasn't good taking care of fragile things. "Don't worry. You don't have to carry it for a long period of time. Most of the eggs are just a day or two from hatching!" I knew that this was a once in a lifetime chance: to receive a free pokemon egg from a breeder. But…somehow, I felt like this wouldn't work.

"Come on Ariann, I know that you can take care of an egg for a day or two. I'll help you out!" I turned to see Rick smiling at me. Right…I wasn't alone. Rick was here. And he's experienced.

"Okay…" I told the woman. "I'll make sure to take good care of it!" She smiled and opened the bags taking out five pokemon eggs. Now that I think about it…How the hell did she carry all her pokemon eggs here?!

There were two sky blue eggs(one with clouds and one without them) , a fiery red one, a beige one with spider-like patterns(which I immediately discarded) and lastly, a brown one with a fissure pattern.

I don't need water or flying type pokemons (Epic will evolve into a gyarados after all), the bug-type was just _not a choice_, that left me with two pokemon eggs…

"Choose the red one. It will help you out with Gardenia." I glared at Rick as he said those words. _I_ was supposed to choose the egg, not him. He was trying to cloud my judgment! I frowned back at the two eggs and decided which one I will choose.

I ended up choosing the brown one (much to the woman's amusement and Rick's disappointment). As I was picking it up to put it in my arms (like a baby), it moved. I let out a scream and almost dropped the egg, Rick quickly caught it before it fell out of my arms. We both sighed in relief. I glanced at the woman in hesitance, but she just waved me off.

"They often make noises and movements when they're about to hatch." I held back the urge to glare at her for not telling me sooner, but opted by giving her a sarcastic "Thanks." She laughed it off and then, Rick and I continued on our journey towards Oreburgh City.


	6. Chapter 6

**Beta-ed by Rosezelene Ersa**

Chapter 6

I was growing tired of carrying the egg. I must've looked it too, because Rick offered to carry it while I battled Trainers or wild pokemon.

…Which points me to a whole other dilemma.

Apart from Confusion and Teleport, my ralts didn't have any other effective attack. I know, he was still small and new, but I can't help but be a little disappointed.

Now I had two-pretty-much-useless -until -evolved pokemon. _Nice*Sarcastic*._

I sighed as Epic finished off another bidoof. Noble was resting in his healball after being knocked out by a budew (stupid little plants.*grumbles to self* getting me even after gaining a new pokemon…). Maybe we should take a rest.

"Hey Rick, can we take a break?" I asked. He shrugged and I took that to be a yes. We went to sit by the shade of a nearby tree by a small pond. I released my other pokemon as Epic was already out and following me.

"Noble, Epic, we're going to take a break, so don't do anything stupid. And don't wander off, m'kay?" They nodded enthusiaticly. I smiled and leaned back, putting my egg on my lap while Epic entered the pond and Noble watched him swim in fascination. I gazed at the egg, wondering when it was going to hatch. I'll just have to wait…

Rick was staring intently at the Great ball in his hand while petting Star, the staravia, which was perched on his head.

"Why don't you take her out?" I asked him, snapping him out of whatever thought he was having at the moment. He smiled at me sheepishly and scratched a little his head, earning a peck from his pokemon.

"The truth is…That I may be a little scared…" I deadpanned at him. Rick, you're such a scaredy-mewoth.

"You have three badges…"

"Yeah."

"And you're scared."

"You know, badges aren't won with bravery," he told me frowning while I rolled my eyes. He just didn't want to admit that he was a coward. I put my egg beside me and stood up. I walked towards him and was about to reach him, but his staravia made to bite off my fingers. I retrieved my hands quickly, giving the bird a look. Stupid bird. I heard Rick whisper at his staravia loudly,

"Don't try anything, Star. She took out a luxio on her own."

"And that is how gossip starts," I told him with a roll of my eyes. He was exaggerating. The luxio was already hurt. He just laughed me off and his pokemon looked at me with new eyes. Give me a break! I looked at Grace's Great ball in determination and snatched it out of Rick's hands in an instant. I hastily threw the pokeball to the ground, and the luxio appeared. I heard Rick groan my name, but I paid him no mind. The luxio sniffed the air and looked around in curiosity.

Then it noticed us and froze.

To my surprise (and Rick's), the female luxio got to the hinge of her legs, crouching low in a submissive manner. So much for a ferocious luxio…

I approached her in caution; after all you never know when a pokemon (especially one that is not yours) will pounce at you. I petted her slowly, ready to retrieve my hand if the situation called for it. After all, she bit Epic and Rick; she will no doubt have no problems in tasting me either.

She purred under my touch. I smiled a little, all the while mourning yet again the loss of a good pokemon. I then glanced back at Rick. He was gaping at me.

"Well, call her," I told him. Rick cleared his throat and tried.

"G-Grace?" he called hesitantly. The luxio paid him no mind, so I stopped petting her. She looked at me pleadingly, but I just returned to my place in the shade of the tree. I put my egg again in my lap and prepared to watch the show. "Grace," he called to her again, much firmer this time. The electric-type pokemon gave him a look of boredom. "I'm your trainer." The luxio's eyes widened comically before looking between me and Rick, demanding for an explanation. I chuckled at the way she looked at us, she looked like she has been lied to all her life.

"It's the truth." She looked at me and then at Rick. She stood up and walked towards his side warily.

"Good girl, Grace," Rick said while petting her when she reached his side, earning a glare and a hiss from the only girl on his team. I laughed openly at him and he gave me a glare. "Not fair! How come Grace likes you more than me, even though I was the one that caught her?!" I smirked at him and told him what I thought was his problem.

"Maybe you aren't the dominating type of person."

"HUH?!"

Soon, he was full of scratches from his starter Star and bites from his girl, Grace. The only two that were acting accordingly were Chim, the chimchar, and Be, the bibarel. These particular pokemon were playing at the pond with my own.

Looking down at my egg, and ignoring the commotion, I wondered what pokemon would come out…maybe a ground-type pokemon…or maybe even a rock-type. I just hoped that it wasn't a geodude, they were just too… I don't know...annoying? Simple?

Our one hour break turned into a five hour one, and when we were in front of the cave, it was already night time.

"We can either camp outside or inside of the cave," I heard Rick said, even though I wasn't paying him much attention, as I was looking at the dark cave that was just a few steps away from us. The gate that connected both Jubilife and Oreburgh…

"But we can continue while it's still dark, right?" I asked him. I mean, inside the cave will still be dark right? It won't make a difference.

"It's dangerous to travel at night," said Rick with a frown. "I've heard that some trainers get ambushed while—"

"Like they can't ambush us while we sleep." I deadpanned at him. He blushed and cleared his throat.

"A-Anyways, the dark is bad," he looked at me seriously. I rolled my eyes; maybe traveling with a gutless guy like Rick was a bad idea after all. "Plus, we won't be able to see anything!"

"I doubt we'll be able to see anything in the cave while it's day-time Rick," I muttered but then an idea came to my mind, making me smirk. "Or… is it that you're afraid of the dark?"

"I'm not scared of the dark!"

"Prove it," I told him bluntly.

"Okay, Fine! You win!" I smirked and Rick looked to the side while muttering something that I couldn't quite hear. It didn't bother me as much as it normally would have, because we will reach Oreburgh by tomorrow. Hopefully while I'm there I'll be able to obtain my first gym badge.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

We managed to arrive in Oreburgh City the next night. Why? Well, because someone decided to explore a little too far inside the cave…

And then, we got lost.

And getting lost, in a cave, is not fun.

We had to starve to death! Well, not really starve but near enough. Thankfully, I had some berries with me, so we didn't die (all hail the berries!). Anyways, we just got out of the cave because of Grace. She sniffed us out towards the exit.

I tried to catch a graveler. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail…painful memories.*cringe* The only important thing is that we got out of there alive.

Skipping my failures, hey! Chim evolved into a monferno! I was so glad! (I'm being sarcastic. I'm so envious that Rick's pokemon evolved faster than mine…)

Apart from that, I almost died! Well, died of fright. You know, in that cave (that is made for BEGINNERS*Please note the sarcasm and bold letters*) there aren't supposed to be any ghost-type pokemon. When Rick and I entered, there was a hoard of them. Most stayed away from us, but others (like a certain hunter that took a liking to scare the hell out of me every five minutes or so) hung around just to torment us.

I may add that I am afraid of any ghost related thing. They are just so…disturbing! I hate ghosts. Ever since my brother brought one house one winter…Or was that a dream? Whatever. Ghosts are bad.

Back to the main theme; after spending almost one week at route 203, I finally got to Oreburgh City. I'm finally about to take on my first Gym Challenge!

...But first, I need a shower.

And some sleep(stupid ghosts…).

So, first thing on my list: Get a room at the Center and rest.

* * *

><p>I woke up feeling groggy, looking dazedly at the walls of my temporal room. Epic (I think) was in the bathtub, Noble was snoozing on a small cushion at the end of the bed, and the egg was broken on the floor…<p>

Wait.

I did a double check and looked at the floor, where I saw the broken brown shell of the pokemon egg. My eyes widened in horror, because fucking hell, I broke a pokemon egg! I swear I didn't mean to! I'm sorry! I didn't know what to do. I was trying to think of something, anything, to do in this kind of situation. Does this mean…that the pokemon is…dead? I felt hollow at the thought, frozen at the idea until I saw some movement from the corner of my eye…

There, at the floor besides my bed, was a small brown thing toying with the bed sheets. It had black beady eyes and an orange-brown body. I moved towards the edge of the bed to inspect it better. And that's when I saw it's mouth. It had big jaws that seemed like they'd have no problem biting human flesh and tearing things apart. I think that most of its head was taken up by just its jaws!

The pokemon seemed to notice my stare and tilted its head to the side.

"Tra?"

Now I remember! This is a really rare pokemon in Sinnoh; and to find one on these parts of the region… I really am lucky!

It was a trapinch!

I quickly got out of bed and extended my hand to the little thing and pet it.

"Hello boy…or girl…or whatever you are…" It was supposed to be a greeting, obviously it didn't sound like one. I started out cooing and ended out bitter. I guess I just don't stick to the lines. The trapinch opened its little jaws(I think they were bigger than my hand, and it was still a baby!) and made to bite me. I took my hand out of the way and gave it a glare. "Come on, I'm not that bad," I told it. When I tried to pet it again, it made to bite me once again. That little..!

"Look," I told it in a tone that meant business (I lost my patience, and I'm a very patient person), "if you're going to continue to snap at me, I'll bite your legs until you can't walk, got that?" It was obviously an empty threat. I mean, how would I bite my pokemons legs?! Well, luckily my trapinch didn't know that. Thankfully I have a very good poker face, so I can easily make up lies. So what if I rot in hell afterwards? At least I'm not killing people.

My trapinch looked away for a split second and I tried to pet it again. It allowed it for a few seconds before marching in the opposite direction, wide-eyed and curious.

I have to name and capture it…But what to name it, exactly? I sighed in irritation before walking towards the bathroom. I saw Epic sleeping soundlessly in the bathtub. I let out a small chuckle. I guess I'll have to wait before taking a shower….maybe after getting my badge. I nodded to myself, suddenly filled with determination. I mean, I will get my badge today! Anyone in my position would be happy. (Or excited, at the very least.) I finished brushing my teeth and changing my clothes, I put a sleeveless yellow shirt with some shorts(that were very short. I'll have to buy more clothes…), and went out. What I found, I have to admit, was a little unnerving.

"Noble! Stop using Confusion on the baby!" Noble looked at me before looking back at the floating trapinch, that by the way, seemed to be having fun floating in the air. Then, it looked back at me and tilted its head to the side.

"Ralts?"

It was then that it struck me that maybe my pokemon didn't recognize the baby as the egg.

"Noble, that's the egg! Stop it!" My trapinch dropped to the floor instantly, and I allowed myself to sigh in relief. My baby pokemon was safe…for now. I glanced back at Noble, only to find him looking at the floor in shame. I sighed again and got the hair out of my eyes, maybe telling Epic before-hand that the egg hatched will avoid another attack towards the little trapinch. I walked over to Noble and picked him up, petting his head.

"It's okay Noble, I'm not mad. You didn't know," I told him, trying to make him feel better.

"Ral?" Noble looked up at me, expecting. What, I didn't know. I mean, I don't speak pokemon! I don't know what the hell he just said, so I did the simplest thing: I nodded at him. He didn't make any objections, so maybe I made a good choice. I heard a knock on the door and frowned. Maybe Rick was up early…

I walked towards the door and opened it. And guess what? Rick was standing there with a grin on his face(His hair wasn't a mess, so I guess he combed it before going out of his room). Which brings us back to the matter at hand, Rick was grinning. Okay, usually, Rick was smiling or poker-facing, and he always grinned when he was really, really, happy. Or at least, that's what I could tell from the time I have been with him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I asked him bluntly.

"Aren't you going to get your first badge today?" I nodded at his question, not knowing what he was going about, and he continued. "Well, Today you become an official pokemon trainer!"

"I thought I was an official trainer when they gave me my ID?" Rick just continued to smile (…His grin is starting to creep me out…).

"I mean a real trainer! The ones that go for the badges and the Elite Four and the Championship." I thought that we were all trainers, even the coordinators. But it seems like only those that go for the real challenge are considered real trainers. That's…very stupid.

"What's that?" I heard Rick ask, snapping me out of my thoughts. I followed his gaze and saw the baby trapinch clinging to me. I crouched down and picked it up; and since it was still a baby it was fairly small.

"Tra! Trapinch!" It cried happily. I came to understand that it liked high places.

"This is my egg. Wait, was. It hatched and it turned out to be a trapinch." Rick looked at my baby with curiosity and tried to pet it. Unfortunately, Rick didn't have the epic reflexes that I had and got bitten by my newest team member. Rick let out a yelp and tried to pry my trapinch's jaws off of his hand, with no avail. I could see some tears in his eyes, it was hilarious! But I fought with the hilariousness and stayed serious. I gave my trapinch the look: Disobey me and I bite your legs. It looked at me warily, before opening its mouth slowly, letting go of Rick's hand.

Rick quickly retracted his hand, rubbed it, and gave me a disbelieving look.

"How did you do that?" I allowed myself to smirk and patted my trapinch's head.

"Telepathy."

"Trapinch." My trapinch seemed to agree with me, much to Rick's disbelief. And I swear I heard Noble scoff somewhere back in my room, but I decided to ignore it for his sake.

"A-Anyways, let's get something to eat," said Rick, avoiding my comment. "I think I'm starving!" I simply nodded, knowing that today was going to be tough. I went back in to retrieve my magikarp and my ralts, returning them to their respective pokeballs. I took out my pokeballs and stared at them for a second. An Ultra ball, a Dusk ball, a Luxury ball and some pokeballs…

"What's wrong Ariann?" I turned towards Rick and gave him a blunt look.

"I have to catch my trapinch first. If I don't do so, someone may steal it," I told him. He looked at the pokeballs and gave me the Luxury ball. I raised a brow at his choice, but he just shrugged.

"Just to make it friendly. You never know if it'll try to bite you."

"But it won't bite me," I told him. Then I looked down at the baby in my arms and asked, "You won't bite me right?" It just stared at me and said,

"Tra."

I glared at it silently and tapped the Luxury ball to its head, muttering "Stay still." The black pokeball moved a little and then went still. I released my pokemon again, and scooped it back up in my arms. With a nod to Rick, we headed down towards the cafeteria of the pokemon center.

* * *

><p>I'm starting to grow annoyed at the stares.<p>

I mean, while I was trying to eat, some people were staring rudely at me and my baby trapinch! And it was starting to piss me off.

And it all started because of a stupid beautiful-eyed black-haired boy…

_*Sudden Flashback*_

_Ariann walked inside the cafeteria, and realized that it was slightly crowded with both people and pokemon. She ignored them all in favor to get to the food aisle, but a gasp and a shout stopped her in her tracks._

_"Hey you!" She froze, but then relaxed. It was very possible that they weren't calling to her. After all, the cafeteria was very crowded. "Hey! The one with the trapinch!" Okay, so maybe they were calling out to her…She turned slowly, Rick looking back at his traveling companion with a frown. He didn't know why, but the girl was, somehow, a magnet for trouble. But she was very good with pokemon, even though she was a little too hard on them (or maybe he was just too soft?)._

_"What is it?" Did he mention that she was also too serious and (sometimes) rude for her own good?_

_"Where did you get that pokemon?"The teen asked Ariann. Her eyes narrowed at the question, and she decided to take in the appearance of the older male. He was still a teenager, probably a year or two older than Ariann, he was tall, taller than most of the teenagers at his age, and had black hair. But the most amazing feature of the boy were his eyes…_

_They were of a deep blue color. As in, not pale blue or green-blue, blue blue. And they were beautiful. So easy to lose one's self into them. She didn't notice she was staring until Rick cleared his throat._

_"Ah, From a breeder," she told the boy. All the people around were now staring at the group curiously, waiting for a fight to break out._

_"Man, I wanted one…" he seemed to mutter under his breath something along the lines of 'Not bringing…' and 'Forgetting…calling Escorp…'. She was about to turn when the boy suddenly looked at her with a determined face._

_"Wanna trade?" The raven asked her, straight forward._

_"What? No!" She was actually a little annoyed at the nerve of the black-haired boy. How dare he say that to her?! After she carried the egg all over route 203 to Oreburgh! Nu-uh, not happening boy._

_"Come on, I can get any pokemon you want!" He probably was exaggerating, she noted, but instantly an Absol flashed into her mind. She couldn't, wouldn't, change her baby pokemon. Even if it was a very tempting offer…The pokemon wouldn't mind right? It still didn't have a name…_

_"Pinch?" The blonde girl looked down at her new pokemon and smiled slightly. No, she wouldn't change this pokemon…it was her baby, hers to train, hers to rise. Not another's. Only hers._

_"Sorry, I'm not interested." Rick almost cried when she told the other boy that. After all, it was still a baby. Not that he would change the pokemon if it were his…okay, maybe he would._

_"But!-"_

_"Not interested," She repeated, without rising her voice, but more forcefully. She gave him a cocky glare and proclaimed, "I'm sorry, but He's mine." The blue-eyed boy gave her a look and so did Rick…Didn't she know…?_

_"B-But it's a girl!" She froze for a second, and then looked at the trapinch in her arms. She swears she thought the trapinch was a boy with that attitude it had…But…It'll work out…she hopes._

_Hope… yeah, that'll work._

_The black haired boy gave a resigned sigh and left the duo alone. With the stares of the rest of the people at the Center…_

_*Sudden Flashback ends*_

Anyways, back to the point at hand.

Everyone was staring at me for not knowing the gender of my own pokemon. But, hey, it wasn't as if they knew. They probably just asked the nurse at the Center to tell them!

I huffed and gave "Hope" (who I quickly noticed was an eat-it-all) a piece of my pancake.

* * *

><p>"Why did you name her Hope? You could have named her…Destroyer? Or something that had to do with food!" Rick was right beside me with Chim at his side, munching at some of Rick's pancakes without his noticing.<p>

"Well, that's because she is my Hope," I told him bluntly. He frowned but didn't press my answer any further.

Yes, she was my hope. My hope to defeat the gym leader of Oreburgh city…

…

"WAIT, WHAT DO YOU MEAN I 'CANT USE HOPE BECAUSE SHE'S NEWLY HATCHED'?!"

…

Well, life sucks.


	8. Chapter 8

**Important Author Note!**

**Hahaha! I wanted to tell you readers that I have a Beta! *Party poppers and confetti flying around* Her name is Rosezelene Ersa. She's awesome! So, every chapter that you read now(and some of the first ones)are beta-ed already! Hope you enjoyour work and thanks fo rhte support!**

**Beta'ed by Rosezelene Ersa**

Chapter 8

It turned out that Hope, my trapinch, couldn't fight until she was one month old.

So much for the hope of my team.

Just kidding!

(Even so, I have to admit that I did felt like crying the moment I heard those words.)

Anyways, apart from the disappointment of not being able to fight with my baby girl, I learned that Hope knew the attacks Bite (well, that much was obvious) and Dig. The latter, I guessed, was because of her breeding linage.

Back to the topic at hand, I could only rely on one pokemon to take on the Gym! Well, two… but Noble was very fragile and will probably get knocked out by the first rock they flung at him (he wasn't weak, just…physically fragile…Yeah that's it). I felt a little sorry for him, but he would evolve and become an epic psychic, I could feel it!

…Don't you just love optimism?

"So, maybe a one-on-one won't be that bad…What do you think?" I asked Rick after telling him about my musings about the up-coming gym challenge. He frowned and seemed to give it some thought.

"Hm…well, it could work. And… you do have a type advantage with Epic and all, but …how could you possibly beat a rock type pokemon with just regular Tackle attacks?" he asked as if he was handing the options over for me to weight. Obviously I'd already thought of that… but it was a difficult choice. Either go two-on-two with Noble and Epic and win, or go two-on-two and Noble loses against the first pokemon and Epic has to take two on his own. Maybe a one-on-one would be the safer choice.

Rick seemed to notice my inner turmoil and let out a sigh. "It could work, but be careful and don't overestimate yourself by your type advantage." I nodded, immediately noting just how knowledgeable he was. He was giving me advice that I would follow willingly. I took out my pokeballs,( just in case something happened and I couldn't fight a one-on-one), and stared at the doors of the Gym. "I'll be waiting for you outside; after all it's your first Gym challenge! You must be nervous!" I frowned down at him and evaluated my feelings. I wasn't nervous, It was just another pokemon battle. If I lost then I'd just have to take the challenge again some other time.

I glanced back at the doors and nodded, mostly to myself.

I could do this.

It's just another pokemon battle after all…

It turns out that it wasn't. The moment I stepped into the arena, I started to fidget and play with my golden hair in a way that was meant to distract me. Nice timing, right? Luckily, there weren't any Gym Trainers free to fight me (there were only three and they were all occupied by fighting younger trainers). I just ignored them and sped forwards, getting into the Battle Arena that the Gym Leader had set up for the upcoming challenger and effectively avoiding any gym trainer in my way. When I stepped into the arena, I froze up.

The gym leader was waiting for me, looking down at me.

My nerves suddenly exploded, (*cough* I spazzed out*cough*), and I was fully aware of my situation.

This was my first Gym Battle! Oh my Arceus, What if I screw up?! What if Epic loses? Should I use a two-on-two or a one-on-one battle?! Is Noble capable enough? What if the leader has a grass type pokemon? What if my type advantage isn't enough?! !?

All these insecurities flooded over me in torrents as a result of my ability to assess practically every detail of a situation, (I was good at this sometimes), combined with my nerves.

The man seemed oblivious to my nerves and stepped forward, confidently meeting my eye. I didn't like that look and decided- in a last resort to look if only a little intimidating- to scowl unflinchingly back.

"Are you going to challenge me?" he asked in a bored matter. I was immediately ticked off by his arrogance. My nerves were starting to mold into anger as I fought to keep myself from talking back to a leader. (It was disrespectful after all.) In the end I decided to nod my head as an answer; it was safer that way.

"Well, this is the second one today…" I heard him mutter, but I paid him no mind. I only wanted to battle and stop the feelings coursing through me. It was, honestly, kinda weird. A while ago I was trembling with nerves, then I was angry, and now …anticipating? Well, whatever.

"Is it a One-on-One or a Three-on-Three?" he asked simply.

"One-on-one," I answered without hesitation.

And , hey, my voice came out all confident after all.

I'm so proud of my acting skills…

The leader walked towards me and extended his hand palm up. What does he want now?

"Your trainer ID," he told me with a roll of his eyes. "If you don't show me your ID I won't know if you're a real trainer or an impostor." I mentally smacked myself. I mean, it made sense. Otherwise, how would the other Gym Leaders know when one actually had a badge? Or if someone stole one? I took out my ID and gave it to him. He scanned it quickly and handed it back.

"It's fine. My name is Jack, and I'm Oreburgh's Gym Leader."

I studied him carefully. He was tall, maybe taller than most people at his age, and looked to be around 20 or so. His hair was russet and his eyes were a dark brown. He got back to his place in the arena and called a pokemon to his side with a smirk. Gee, sadistic bas-

"Well, let's start this. You go first." he remarked, rolling a pokeball around in the palm of his hand while a graveler stomped on the ground madly. I took out Epic's pokeball and threw it.

"Go, Epic!" My dear magikarp was out and splashing as always. As I was about to order him to attack, I heard a choked snicker. I frowned and turned my gaze towards Jack, he was covering his mouth with his hand, trying to calm down his laugh with no avail. What the hell is wrong with him? He finally bursted out laughing, openly pointing at my magikarp. Oooh…

"Oh my…Oh my Arceus! T-That Name-that name!" he said between laughs. I instantly hoped he choked or something. I mean, he was supposed to be a GYM LEADER! Wasn't he supposed to be composed and mature and kind? I glared at him, actually a little embarrassed because everyone that heard the name actually looked at me as if I was insane or something. Even Rick had laughed at me. But they were the stupid that didn't understand that Epic will evolve into an epic gyarados! Back to the point at hand, Jack was still laughing! And it wasn't even that funny!

...It wasn't…

"D-Don't laugh!" I hate that my voice broke when I shouted that, it made me sound weak. Even though I was more annoyed than embarrassed. Stupid gym leader, I should kick him in the place that Dad told me to…

Yeah, and maybe, my kick will hurt him.

A lot.

"O-Okay, okay," he told me, wiping tears from his eyes (When did he start to cry?!) and taking deep breaths. He was trying to stay serious and he was failing miserably.

"Okay, Epic use-"

"Pffff-HAHAHAHA!" Jack burst out laughing again! I tried not to show my disdain… he was a gym leader and they deserved respect… but If he weren't one, I would have kicked him to oblivion already.

"Are you going to take me seriously?!" I couldn't keep the frustration from my voice. Okay, so what if I didn't like people laughing at my pokemon? Or at their names? Or at me? It was when I saw Jack on the floor, clutching his stomach(still laughing the bastard) that I snapped.

"Epic, come here," I called to my fish pokemon. He looked between me and the laughing man, and headed towards my side. I crouched down beside him and told him seriously, "Don't forget this person Epic. I'll make sure you'll get your revenge," And mine. Epic looked back at Jack and his graveler(the later was looking at its master in worry, not knowing what to do), nodding. I nodded, returned Epic, and stood up, leaving the arena.

That bastard was going to pay. And he was going to go down with a bang.

I stomped out of the gym and immediately found Rick on one of the benches, staring off into space. I hesitated. Should I tell him what happened? Or should I lie? And after that, maybe I could go to the center, smash something to the floor and then give it to Hope for dinner. (And if that something is Jack's head…)

"Are you okay?" I looked up and saw Rick staring at me with a worried face. I smiled(which I think turned out to be a grimace) and replied,

"Yeah, I'm just planning to leave this gym for the end." So I can crush him with all I got. I added mentally, while (unconsciously, I swear) smirking sadistically to myself in anticipation. He was going to pay… Rick frowned at my reaction and asked,

"But what happened?"

"Don't ask. The man is a total jerk," I answered him bluntly. He laughed as if I had told him a joke. Hahaha-I didn't. "It's the truth," I added.

"Yeah, but did you lose?" I didn't even got the chance to battle!

"I said Don't ask. Let's get our stuff, we're leaving." I started to walk towards the Pokemon Center, but I soon noticed that my dear friend wasn't following. I slightly turned back and called to him hesitantly. "Rick?" The way he flinched at his own name gave me a feeling of dread.

"U-Um, erh, you see, Ariann… I-I am going to…to keep up with my own journey…" he whispered with his eyes downcast. I have to admit that I felt a little betrayed. I don't even know why. I mean, I've only known the guy for a little over a week, and now that he's going to leave I feel the urge to cry my eyes out as if he were a long time friend…

That's one of the bonds, I learned, that only trainers can have.

I tried to smile, really I did! But the little smile I managed to get out broke instantly and my tears began to fall. I felt Rick hugging me, but I didn't do anything. Damn, I don't even know why exactly I'm crying! I always knew I was the sentimental one, but…

This was ridiculous.

I sniffed and wiped the tears away.

I released myself from Rick's awkward embrace and gave him a lopsided grin. I just wanted to reassure him that I was fine, that he could continue in his journey, that he didn't need to burden himself with me.

"You better…be ready Rick," I told him between sniffs. He looked at me with a confused frown and I continued. "because when I find you, I'm going to challenge you to a pokemon battle and I'm going to punish you if you lose."

"EH?! Why?!" he shouted dramatically. I knew he was just coping with me to lighten the mood.

I smiled at him and said, "Thanks, for everything Rick."

He smiled back at me and ruffled my blonde hair(which I only let him touch because he was leaving).

"Anytime Ariann. Until we meet again," he called over his shoulder, turning and picking up his bag (that I failed to see beside the bench he was sitting on earlier) and departing to his own adventure. I smiled, and decided to hold on to my warning as a promise. When we meet again, I'll challenge him. And I will win.

After spending another day in Oreburgh, mostly depressed inside my room or talking to my pokemon about our current situation, I decided that it was time I moved on.

I packed some supplies and headed alone towards route 206, heading North towards Eterna City, where a gym awaited me.

Too bad I didn't know I would meet one of my worst fears on that route…


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

**AN; Warning! Contains Rape(mentions of it). Also, it is Un-betaed. **

* * *

><p>When I got out of Oreburgh City, I was granted with a very precious gift.<p>

I saw a larvitar.

If it would've been another pokemon, I would've let it slide. But Mother of Arceus, it was a _larvitar._ That meant that it will evolve into a tyranitar!

Another epic pokemon!

I called out Noble and whispered to him,

"Listen Noble, that pokemon over there," I said while pointing towards where the little larvitar was walking around without a care, "I need you to hurt it a little bit so that we can catch him and make him part of our team, okay?" Noble seemed a little reluctant about it at first, but went on with his orders.

I saw as Noble used confusion after confusion(evading the little Rock Throws with his teleporting) until the rock-type pokemon was almost passed out. Then, as I took out my pokeball to catch my-soon-to-be larvitar, I saw something attack Noble from behind. My eyes widened as my psychic fell to the ground, clearly knocked out. I dropped the pokeball and ran to my pokemon's side. I was worried, because he just dropped to the floor! All thoughts of the larvitar left my head as I reached my pokemon and saw he was fine(mostly). I crouched down infront of him to pick him up, when I saw a pokeball heading right straight at me. I covered my face with my hand, and thank Arceus I did, because that's the spot where the pokeball hit. And it _huuuuurt!_ I always knew pokeballs were metallic and all, but why cant they put a cushion on the outside! Can't they imagine the pain the pokemons must feel when captured by one of those metallic thingys!

As I silently cursed, I saw a boy coming towards me with a glare. I glared back at him, wondering why in the seven hells he just threw at me a pokeball. Then, he said rather arrogantly,

"You know, that ralts is mine." I felt something akin to over-protectiveness over power me. I burst out laughing, a harsh and mocking laugh.

"Yours?! Boy, this pokemon is mine," I told him with a cold smirk.

"Nu-uh! I saw it first and I knocked it out so I get to capture it!" Oh~ So the boy thought Noble was a wild pokemon? Well, too bad for him.

"Look, this ralts here is called Noble. And this is his pokeball," I explained while taking out Noble's Healball and returning him. The boy's face seemed to change from angry-bratty to understanding. "Noble is mine."

"Sorry, I thought he didn't have an owner," the boy said sheepishly, his bratty demeanor from before vanished.

"Well, he does. Now, bye," I said pocketing my Healball and turning towards where I lastly saw the larvitar only to find nothing. I cursed under my breath and ran a hand through my hair in irritation. Great, just great. If it weren't for the arrogant prick….

"Wow, a larvitar!" I immediately turned and saw the boy from before looking at the larvitar (_my _larvitar) with a pokeball in hand.

"Woa,woa,woa,woa. Boy, not happening. That larvitar is mine!" I shouted while taking a pokeball of my own out. The boy rolled his eyes and threw the pokeball at the larvitar. It gave a small shake and broke out. I hesitated for a moment. The pokeball didn't work. Maybe another pokeball…a Great ball? I shook my head and reached in my pack for the one pokeball that Rick warned me about:

The ultra ball.

I threw it before the pokemon could react. It absorbed the larvitar and instantly started to shake as the pokemon inside started to struggle. I waited anxiously, taking a strand of my blond hair in the process. What if I didn't catch it? What if Rick's pokeball doesn't work? To my surprise, I heard a click and the boy groan beside me. I went and retrieved my ultra ball with a smile. Yes! I had now an epic-soon-to-be Tyranitar! Then, I glanced at the boy besides me. He was glaring at me again.

"I'm sorry, but I was trying to catch this pokemon before you interrupted me," I told him while giving him a stare of my own, silently daring him to complain. The boy looked downwards and seemed to be containing his anger or something, because he was soon shaking. Suddenly, his eyes locked with mine, and I could finally see his red face. Was he blushing or was he just embarrassed?

"I-I challenge you to a pokemon battle!" My eyes widened and I immediately shook my head. He noticed my movements and frowned.

"I can't, my ralts, Noble, and the larvitar are hurt. Hope isn't able to battle yet and Epic is…Epic." I finished lamely. I didn't know why, but I didn't want to introduce Epic to anyone ever again. Not after what Jack did to me. He looked at me in determination and said,

"Then, in the future. When we meet again, I'll battle you!" At those words, I remembered Rick and I yesterday. I felt a little nostalgic about the fact that we weren't traveling together any longer. I smiled sadly and replied.

"Yes, in the future…"

After that meeting, we (The boy's name was L.J. or something like that) parted ways. Traveling alone had its merits: you could travel at your own pace or you didn't have to wait for anyone. Also, you didn't have to listen to anyone to order you around(not that it happened to me with Rick. In any case, it was the other way around). Add to that, I could take all the trainers and not half of them. But obviously, there were also some downfalls to traveling alone: I think I have run at least 3 times from some of the wild pokemons that were just too strong for my small team of four(three since Hope didn't fight). And that was only in my first day! Also, I didn't have anyone to back me up in case of an emergency. Though the worst thing was that I felt lonely. Okay, _really_ lonely. I even let out Noble(since Psychics were supposed to have telepathy) once and it turned out in a failure. He didn't talk like I supposed he would, but I was still a little comforted by his presence. But apart from the perks and falls of being a solo trainer, being alone wasn't that bad after all.

Then _it_ happened. My worst fear.

I released my larvitar for the first time. I still had to name it, so I had no other choice. For safety measures, I also released Epic. The green rock-type pokemon glanced at me with something akin to a scowl on his face. I guess he didn't want me as his trainer…well, too bad for him.

"I'm your trainer," I told it. It glared even harder at me and then with a huff it looked away. Stupid, bratty pokemon. I was thinking of another approach when Epic decided to have a chat with it.

_'Karp! Karp!'_

_'Lar…'_

_'Karp! Magi, Magikarp!'_

It wasn't until I saw the larvitar use bite on my pokemon that I noticed that they were probably arguing about something.

"Hey, hey, stop it you two!" I shouted at them both, trying to at least make one of them stop. Epic used a Tackle on the Rock-type pokemon, sending it skidding back a few steps. I gapped at them both. Why were they even fighting?!

"Epic, Stop!" I saw Epic turn towards me and give me a blunt 'Kapr'. Which I immediately understood as a 'No'. Now of all times, Epic was becoming a rebel? I felt a little angry at his behavior. I saw the larvitar gave back a tackle at my magikarp, and that is when I snapped. I crouched down before them, and said dangerously,

"Look, you undersized little monsters, you'll stop or I'll grill you and catch another magikarp and another larvitar that _actually_ listen to me." Epic and the larvitar looked at each other warily and Epic prepared for another attack. "And don't you even _think_ you're out of it. I _will_ grill you too Epic." I saw my magikarp step back, muttering something along the 'magikarp' lines and the larvitar looked at me in the eyes. "What?" I asked it a little rudely, it huffed and looked to the side arrogantly.

_'Lar.'_

"Fine. Are you male or female?" I asked it. It stared at me, apparently not knowing what I was talking about. I rolled my eyes. "You know, boy or girl?" It still stared at me, and those red eyes were starting to get on my nerves.

_'Karp.'_ I turned towards Epic and he splashed. I remember that he did that exact thing when I captured Noble.

"So, Epic, tell me. Is he a boy?" he replied with a splash and some excited 'karp, karp's. it was obvious that the larvitar was a male. Then, to my amusement, I saw the larvitar give Epic a very annoyed scowl. He didn't want me to name it…well, I guess that'll have to change. I promised that I wouldn't release a pokemon. So the larvitar will have to cope with me. "How about I call you 'Destroyer'?" He looked at me as if asking 'seriously'? I crossed my arms and asked him. "Well, how do _you_ want to be called?" it gave a shrug and looked to the side again. "Let's see…I have an Epic, a Noble, a Hope…" I muttered to myself while recalling all my pokemon's names… "How about…Ambition? You _do_ seem like the ambitious type…" The larvitar just gave me an indifferent face while I just nodded to myself.

Ambition it is. My soon-to-be- epic tyranitar.

I started to train Ambition that same day after returning Epic(he was a little reluctant about it) and sending Hope(she was my baby but she still had to learn to fight). Ambition was proven to be a very good and obedient battler. He obeyed my every command even if he wasn't all that happy about it.

It was then that I heard shouts.

I looked around, searching for the source of the sounds. I started to walk silently in the direction of the shouts and grunts, Ambition following close behind(Hope grew tired so I had to return her). As I hid behind some of the bushier bushes, I saw some thugs beating a man senseless…

Haha-Bye! I immediately turned and started to head back towards the path of trainers, trying to ignore my guilty conscience. Okay, I _did_ get involved in the fight with the woman back in route 203, but that was simply because she was a defenseless _woman_ and I had Rick_. _Also, there was only _one _ now, there were _three_ bastards. And there's no way in hell that a small and scrawny girl with four super-power-ed animals could take on three overgrown bastards with I-don't-want-to-know-how-many powerhouses. Nu-uh, not happening. Better safe than sorry.

"Woa, man ain't that a chick?" I winced as I tried to quicken my pace, returning my larvitar so I could run without having to look out for him. I wasn't all that far away from the group when I felt a pressure on my ankle. Whatever it was, it yanked me back, making me fall face-first on the floor. I was thankful that there was a little grass there, if not I would've surely broken my nose with the fall. I groaned, feeling a little panicked that they managed to catch up to me so quickly. I tried to get up again, but something grabbed my hands, pinning them in their place on the ground. I struggled for a while, trying to desperately get free from the green things that were now grabbing my arms in place, when I heard footsteps near to me. I felt someone turn me over, the things at my arms changing their grip on me. As I laid face up, glaring at whatever reached my sight, I analyzed my situation.

There was a man grinning near me, which I found very disgusting and unnerving, while two others stayed at the back. There was also a pokemon, a carnivine, handling the vines around my hands and legs while it floated around. Maybe I shouldn't have returned my pokemons after all…

"If it isn't a trainer…Are you a newbie?" the first thug asked in mocking sympathy. I glared at him in order to feel if only a little intimidating.

"Let me go," I growled. They all laughed, as if I have just made a joke. Maybe making demands wasn't the best of choices in these kinds of situations. "Fine, what the hell do you want?"

"Oh, nothing," Before I could reply, I felt the pressure at my arms rise as the vines around my arms shifted my position. I was now hanging from my arms(and let me tell you, it _hurt_)in front of them. I glared at the grass pokemon for tying me up with his vine whip attack. Then, I felt something press to my throat. Another vine, I noticed. It wasn't making any pressure…yet.

"You scream and you die." the one at the back(the owner of the carnivine) sneered.

"Painfully." The other added lamely.

"So be a good girl, hm?" asked the first one with a teasing smirk as he stepped towards me. I glared at him. Now I know what is going to happen. They will take all my things, maybe even my _pokemons_, and they'll leave me alone in the dark route of 206…

Not near enough my fate…

To my surprise and disgust, the man took a hold of my blonde locks and started to lick and suck and kiss…

It was utterly disgusting.

I couldn't help it, I head butted the man in the nose while he was going to dive for my mouth. Almost immediately, I felt the vine around my neck become tighter, cutting my air supply instantly. I glared at them while I started to struggle. 'Bastards! Let me get free so you see! I shall castrate you all! I swear!' That's what I was thinking at that time. The man held his nose (I was so happy and proud when I saw the blood oozing out) and glared at me.

"Feisty, huh?" He went for me another time, but not before giving me a punch in the gut.

I tried gasping in pain, but I couldn't due to the vine around my neck. _I couldn't breathe._ I started to struggle once again (because I _can't_ die here. Not here of all places!) until I felt the man's filthy mouth connect with mine. His tongue entered my mouth, and traveled around my whole cavern. I felt my eyes water at his actions.

Never in my life had I felt so disgusted at a kiss.

While his mouth devoured mine, I felt his hands travel down my shorts… My eyes widened, but I found that my body was too weak to continue in its struggling.

I was going to die.

I saw black spots dancing in my vision as my lungs tried once again without achieving anything to gain the so precious air. Then, I wasn't feeling anything. Not his disgusting mouth on my neck, or his hands on my hips, neither his body pressing against mine.

It was selfish, but I was happy that I couldn't feel anything. Though I did felt sorry for my pokemon, I wouldn't be able to see any of them again. Not Epic with his blunt 'karps' or Noble with his gentle attitude. Not Hope with her little bites, or Ambition with his scowl. But at least…they will…live…

Unlike me…

_My conscience slips…_

_Slips…_

_And out…_


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

I feel…tired…

_Beep_

I don't know why…

_Beep_

I feel itchy and cold and dirty…

_Beep_

And that beeping sounds doesn't let me sleep…

I forced my eyes open, squinting them later at the light on the room. After adjusting to the light, I gave a look at the room trying to figure out where I was. While looking around, I noticed the things at my arms…there were bandages…

A flash back hit me like a bullet, all thoughts of the men, the vines, the hands, the mouths, disgusting, _disgusting, __**disgusting!**_ I felt myself whimper, which brought pain to my throat. Then I remembered the vines around my hands.

I started to take them off. Take them off. Take them off. _Off_. **_Off._** I wanted them out!

I didn't notice I was probably hyperventilating by this point until a nurse came, barking orders at me while pinning my arms at my sides. I did what she told me to do, take deep breaths. In, out. In, out. A few repetitions and I was considerably better, if only a little shaken. Though, I was still trying to get out off the woman's grip to take out the vines.

"Miss, please leave the bandages where they are, you're going to hurt yourself." Bandages? I glanced back at my arms to see the white cloth wrapped almost mockingly around them. I suddenly felt a wave of relief wash over me at the realization that I was finally safe. But I felt too tired to move, so I let my head drop back to the pillow, shutting my eyes close to rest them a little bit. Even though I felt relieved I still needed to know something first…

"What…Happened…" It hurt to talk, but I guess that's what happens when people try to strangle you to death. And my voice was raspy too…Well, damn.

"You see…" I heard the nurse say conversationally as some movement and clicking sounds reached from my right. "A group of grown men were stealing from you, but a young man stopped them with his pokemon. You're very lucky that boy was there. Be a little more careful okay? Aside from your throat, you're fairly fine. Just a few bruises, in your nose and face to name a few." I silently thanked her for not using any medical-language the doctors usually use. Though I had to frown a little at the slight missing information. "Do you want to see him?" Him? Oh, the boy! I felt myself nod, wondering once again why the boy would lie. While they _were_ trying to steal from me, that wasn't the only thing they were trying to do.

They wanted to take me. Violate me. Rape me.

I felt a shudder go down my spine and unconsciously scratched my neck with my hand.

_Where he kissed, and licked and sucked…._

I scratched even harder while trying to get the images **_out of my head_**. When I noticed that it wasn't working, I started to take in deep breaths. In, out. In, out…

I heard the door slam open, the mere sound making me jump and return my hand back to my side. I glanced nervously at the door, and realized that it wasn't the nurse. It was a boy. Wait a minute…I somehow recognized those pure blue eyes and black hair…

"Y-You…?!" I heard myself ask in disbelief. I mean, I _knew_ the guy!

He was the one that wanted to trade Hope!

He just nodded awkwardly and sat in the seat besides my bed in the same manner. Then an equally awkward silence…

"So, how are you?" he asked me rather lamely. But the sincerity in his (beautiful) blue eyes made me answer.

"I almost died and got raped," I told him bluntly. It must be obvious how I felt, ¿no?

"You didn't-I mean, they didn't…do anything. I got there before they…." I sighed in relief, though it _did _made sense. I didn't feel any pain or discomfort, just kind of unclean and disgusting. Maybe after a shower the feeling will leave. Now, I just had to thank him.

"Thanks…" I told him. I didn't know I was keeping my feelings too in check. So when I said those words, I broke down completely. "I-I thought-I thought I was going to d-die," I said, the hiccups and the tears breaking my words. "And-And that then my pokemon-" My eyes widened and I abruptly sat up, the rough movement making me dizzy for a few seconds. I started to touch my pockets, all over around me but to no avail. I started to panic.

My pokeballs were nowhere to be seen.

"Wh-Where…?!" The teen stood up and went to my side to try to calm me down. "M-My pokemon!"

"They're fine! They're on the center being healed!" The male took me by the shoulders to keep me from bolting out of the Hospital to search for my pokemon. Bad idea. I pictured the man, _the smirk, the hungry look in his eyes…_

"Let go! Let go! Don't touch me!" I started to shriek and shake while struggling in the young man's grip. He let me go in surprise, and suddenly, the visions stopped. I was panting and tired, my hand going up to my neck to scratch nervously at the spot. The other teen stared at me for a long moment before sighing and leaving. I closed my eyes, thinking about what happened.

I just hit him. To the person that saved me. I hit him and then scared him off.

I'll have to apologize to him later…

I don't even know why I snapped at him. It's just…That vision…The man was right in front of me….! I winced slightly when I retrieved my hand from my neck and saw blood under my nails. After that I stopped. I fell asleep soon after that. Nightmares waiting for me in the corners of my mind.

* * *

><p>I woke up again, this time I was crying and whimpering. I saw worried blue eyes staring at me.<p>

"Are you okay?! Come on, wake up…damn." I tried to calm my breathing like the nurse told me to do. Then I noticed his hands on my shoulders and I felt myself start to shake, my vision going lack for a second. I don't know how but I managed to pry his hands away from my shoulders without hurting him. And with that, the shaking stopped.

After a few minutes, I was calm again. Or as calm as I could be.

"Damn, you scared me…" He sighed, falling on the chair besides my bed in, what I supposed was, tiredness. I noticed, by the darkness of the room, that it was still night time. If so, why was he still here…? "Are you okay? You're staring off to space... Do I need to call a nurse?" He looked so different from the straightforward person I met at the Center. I smiled at him.

"I'm fine…just…thinking," I told him, trying not to worry him anymore. Then I noticed something out of the corner of my eye…Those were _my_ pokeballs! I narrowed my eyes at them before glaring at the teen in front of me. He laughed and held his hands up in surrender.

"Hey, no need to kill me yet. I told you they were at the Center, and it was true. I had to use your psychic when I found you to get you quickly to the Hospital. That ralts sure was worried about you. It even attacked me!" he said laughing. I resisted the urge to facepalm right then and there. _'After all, who goes opening other's trainers pokeballs after all,' _I grumbled. I returned my attention to him, however, when he took my pokeballs in his hands and extended it to me with a smile. "You have an awesome team." I could feel myself heat up at the comment. After all, this is the first time someone calls my team nice…

"They're epic," I told him, agreeing with him in my own way while he just chuckled. I threw the bunch of pokeballs and soon, my team of five was out…

Wait…Five?!

I immediately started to count heads. There was Noble in my lap (hugging me), Epic by the end of the bed (almost falling off if it weren't for my hero), Hope trying to go higher but only reaching my legs, Ambition who was looking at me creepily and lastly, a blue ball with a fin on the head, wide eyes and big teeth along with a red underbelly…

I didn't know that pokemon.

The boy must've noticed my horrified face because he quickly explained.

"Um, Erh, you see, when I got there, that gible was fighting the thugs' carnivine. I-I thought it was yours, so when I was going to return it with a Greatball I found in your bag, which turned out to be empty by the way, it suddenly started to shake and it captured it! I left it to you since the greatball was yours and all," he explained in one breath. I looked at my new addition. It was a little bigger than Ambition, and it was reaching for my hand. I petted it with a little hesitance. It rumbled happily, leaning closed to my hand. Hope gave it a growl, snapping it jaws warningly while it just growled back. A gible…Those were Dragon-type pokemon right?

"Um…Thanks?" It turned out more of a question than a thank you. "Hi guys…" I told my pokemon, they all fell silent. Suddenly, I was a ball of pokemon. All of them trying to hug me from different angles, sometimes going over each other to reach me(in the gible's case). They made me laugh(even as I felt tears pricking at my eyes), Noble perching on my head easily with a well timed teleport. Ambition, being the antisocial one, just smiled(_Smiled)_ and just sat at the end of my bed. Even the gible seemed to be more worried than him!

"The nurse said that you'll be able tomorrow if you want. After all, you have only a few minor scratches!"The blue-eyed teen said grinning. It seems like he was happy for me.

"That's good…Can I know your name?" I asked suddenly.

"Eh? Why _now?_"

"I just noticed that I didn't know how to call you, O' Savior of mine," I told him teasingly. He blushed a nice red color at the nickname, while I just smiked. "Or shall I call you Hero?" H e blushed even more! Oh my Arceus, I never knew teasing someone would be so much fun!

"Okay, okay, That's enough! You win, my name is Capr-Erh,Cap. You can call me Cap." I raised my brow at the slip of tongue but decided to ignore it.

"Thanks for saving me again, Cap," I told him again with a genuine smile. He looked aside, muttering a 'no prob'. I laid back (almost knocking Noble from his perch on my head) and returned most of my pokemon after petting each one of them. The only ones left out were Noble and Hope(because she was my baby). Hope laid on my lap, and Noble on my head. I turned back towards Cap, to thank him again(and actually ask him if he could put the pokeballs at the nightstand that was out of my reach), but he was asleep. His black hair falling slightly over his face, looking almost like a small kid even though I knew he was older than me. Maybe he _was_ tired…

With that thought, and the security that my pokemon were fine and with me, I felt myself drift back to sleep.

I was alive, my pokemon were alive. _We _were alive

And I was grateful.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

**Un-betaed. Also, there is a pic of Cap and Rick if you want to see it. In the next chapter I will be putting Ariann. **

"How about 'Pretty'?"

"I already barked at that tree, Cap."

"Hmmmm…'Ferocious'?"

"She's a girl."

Cap and I were trying to find a name for my newly acquired gible. But I was picky with the names (as I was picky with almost everything). While I changed (I made sure to close all the curtains of the room and checked the doors to see if they were locked) into some clothes that Cap brought me (Which were too big for me), I let out my gible. She(because she was a female, I made sure to ask Cap that. He laughed at me.) soon started to cling to me, which I didn't found all that irritating (yet). It seemed like she was clingy by nature, which didn't suit her predator looks…at all. I sighed, glancing at the blue pokemon in my arms, but not knowing how to name it. I shook my head, finished changing and left the room.

Cap waited for me outside, giving me a slight smile.

"You look…weird." He commented. True to his words, the pants were too big on me, making me look smaller than I was already, while the shirt looked like a pajamas on me. I gave him a raised brow.

"Who was it that bought these clothes?" He looked to the side and said rather loudly,

"Well, you didn't tell me your size so—"

"_Who was it that bought these clothes?" _I asked, with more force this time. He gave me a glare before looking to the side, muttering, '_Me'_. He looked like a child, I noted with amusement.

"Anyways, we can go check some extra clothes for you. They're pretty cheap."

We left the hospital (I didn't have to pay the bills, since my trainer ID took care of that) and headed towards a small store to buy some clothes. I entered, zooming instantly towards the female's aisle. I grabbed a navy blue hoodie and a black cap, along with some jeans that were one size bigger than mine.

_'Ble?'_

"It's okay. Just stay with Cap, I'll change quickly," I told the small dragon-type pokemon. It gave a whine, rubbing its head to my chest, making me roll my eyes at it. "Come on, go with him." It huffed and jumped towards Cap, who caught it swiftly.

I quickly paid the clothes, thanking the store again because they were very cheap, and went to the changing room in the store.

"But, y'know, how about you call her 'Savage'?" I heard Cap call from the other side of the dressing room. From what I've learned from Cap, he was just a beginner like me(although he had one badge), and he was (unlike Rick) very easy-going. He had that charm that made you act friendly towards him. It was weird. Especially after our meeting at the Pokemon Center…

"No. Why did you even considered 'Savage'?" I asked, putting the pants Cap bought in my bag and putting my new pants on. They fitted, though they were a little too big…

"Well, she _will_ evolve in a garchomp."

"That's no excuse." I finished changing and took a look at the mirror on the wall. My blond hair was covered by my black cap(though there were a few bangs that fell to each side of my face, but not in my eyes) while my hoodie hid the rest of the hair while it was on top of the cap. My hoodie was too big, making me lose every feminine curves or characteristics that I was supposed to have, while the pants were loose and big, but not to the point where they fell off me.

In other words, I looked like a boy.

_Target accomplished._

I have been thinking, most of the attacks were against women. Rape, Murder, Thievery. That meant that women were underestimated by men. So, if women were underestimated by men, I'll just have to cross-dress. Happily. (Or that's what I think)

I nodded to myself, stepping out of the dressing room and meeting Cap, who was waiting for me with my gible. He stared at me as if I were another person. Maybe I looked like another one, but I wasn't one…

"Well?" At the sound of my voice, my gible started to struggle in Cap's arms. I let out a laugh and she jumped towards me. I caught her with a yelp and a small stumble.

"Erm, who are you?" Cap asked, looking at me in teasing confusion. I decided to play along with him.

"Oh~ Now you know that I am not Ariann! Oh no! What are you going to do now, oh Great Hero?" I told him with a small smirk(I was doing that a lot lately). He blushed in embarrassment. Cute.

"I-I said Stop it!" I ignored him and decided to walk out of the store, knowing he'll be following behind(I was such a _great_ leader). On my way out, I almost got knocked off of my feet by a grown up man. I stumbled back, giving the man a small glare while my hands tightened around my pokemon. My hands were shaking, that's why I was gripping at my pokemon so hard. I feet froze on the spot, deciding not to cooperate with my mind at the moment. I heard my gible growl quietly at my hands at the man, reminding me that she knew about my fear. About my Androphobia. My fear of men. The man smiled sheepishly, and apologized. I nodded back stiffly and practically ran out of the store.

Once outside, I took a deep breath. Held it in…and out… I had noticed that lately I felt a little-okay _a lot_ uncomfortable around males(excluding Cap, though I suppose that's because he helped me). They made me freeze in fear when I neared them too much. When I asked the nurse about it, she told me that I might had developed a minor(Yeah, _minor. _Hahaha*sarcasm*) trauma. I couldn't do anything about it if I wanted to continue my adventure, so I just had to get used to being alone…

Or so I thought, because a certain black-haired teen didn't seem to want to leave me alone.

"Why did you left so fast? I thought something had happened," he said, scolding me. He kind of remembered me of my older brother…Maybe that's another reason why I let him get so close to me.

"Fast?" I asked feigning innocence, since I knew that I practically ran out of the place.

"Yeah, You ran out, as in, really fast! People looked at you weirdly," he told me as I started to walk towards the north of Oreburgh City: Route 206. I wasn't scared of going back there, just a little cautious. Then, I noticed that Cap was still following. Even if it was kind of obvious I couldn't help but ask.

"Cap, you're going to Eterna?" He nodded seriously, taking out a pokeball from his pack. Kind of stupid if you ask me. I always put my pokeballs in my pants pockets, though now that I have a hoodie, I could put them in the big pocket it had…

"I'm not gonna let you go alone on that Route again," he told me seriously. Now that I think about it…It would be good to travel with another person again. But the fact that Cap chose _me_ of all people made me think that maybe he had a sister complex. After all, he was always with me like a parent to his child.

"Cap, do you have a sister?" I couldn't help but ask.

"No, why?"

"Nothing." I knew it.

* * *

><p>The next week was spent mostly on Route 206. Cap caught a ponyta (whom he called Red, even though it was a girl…) and I saw my first pokemon evolution…<p>

* * *

><p><strong>"Noble use Confusion!" To my surprise, Noble used another attack. He created leafs out of thin air, launching them at the foe without fail. Since it was a geodude, it got knocked out very quick. Soon after that, I saw an unnatural glow coming from my ralts. I looked down at him, watching in fascination as he started to grow from inside the white light. When the light died down, a Kirlia stood there, twirling around in its tiny legs. He had a skirt-thingy and was now a little taller, but still smaller than the rest of my team. Also, the green thing at his head changed, allowing me to see his red eyes. Even though I was a little disappointed, because I thought Epic would be the first one to evolve, I was happy for Noble. Well, it was understandable that Noble evolved first, he was out most of the time and could escape the battles he couldn't win quickly…<strong>

**_"I evolved! Did you see me?" _****I blinked hard. Then my eyes widened in recognition. Telepathy. Noble was speaking to me through Telepathy. That was epic! **

**'****_I have a pokemon translator!_****'I thought rather happily.**

* * *

><p>And the other day, Dread(I decided to call my gible that…it kind of suited her.) decided to evolve too.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>"Dread, use Sand Tomb and then Take Down!" I called at her as she complied, quickly making a sand tornado and sending it towards the ponyta. Then she ran towards it, using a Take Down. But the ponyta was stubborn and countered with an ember. I was already growing annoyed at the small fire pony. "Use Tackle!" Dread tackled it to the ground, and it didn't get up again. I sighed (<strong>**_Finally!)_**** focusing again on my small dragon-type pokemon. And it was… shining….Yeah….**

**Dread's body started to shine, growing bigger and lean(the contrary of her previous ball-like body). She was growing even bigger than any of my pokemon(since they were all so small…), reaching my chest even! Either I was very small(which I am not! I swear!*lying*) or my pokemon was growing too big. **

**The light dimmed out, finally disappearing and now a blue dragon stood there. Dread immediately looked down at herself, her eyes staying ****_too long_**** at her new sharp claws. And let me tell you, they looked ****_dangerous._**** Then she seemed to notice me, rubbing her head against my stomach with a content ****_"Bite…"._**** I gave her a small smile, and hesitantly petted her head.**

**"Good girl, that's my good girl…"**

**When I asked Cap why Dread evolved so quickly(after all, dragons tended to evolve late right?) he told me that maybe she was stronger than most of the pokemon in the area and dominated them. I just gave him a blunt look and decided not to ask him any more pokemon-related questions. After all, he was not Rick. He was just… Cap.**

* * *

><p>Then, on a certain night, we decided to talk about a very <em>interesting<em> topic…

"So," Cap said conversationally, we were sitting near a campfire that Red had made. Our teams were out.

Cap had a Mightyena on his side (looking around cautiously), a Marshtomp that was on his lap and a big dinosaur-plant-like pokemon that was apparently sleeping at the back. It was like a lapras, but with legs and leaves. And of a different color. It was a Tropius. And also, his ponyta that was in front of him, near the fire.

My own team was all sprawled around me. Hope(who had grown a little too big for my head) was now on my lap, Noble was on my head in her stead. Epic was by my side while I was petting him and on my other side was Dread(my other arm was in her hands but she made sure not to cut me. How _lovely)_. Ambition(whom I caught stealing glances at Dread's evolved form) was sleeping besides Epic, much to my surprise.

"So what?" I asked Cap.

"How many badges do you have?" I looked at him in the eye, smirking, while I held my hand up making an 'O' shape. He looked at me in surprise. "Zero? As in, none? But you have a team of five!" He shouted in exasperation.

"Well, let's say that the leader, Jack, and I had some sort of…disagreement," I told him, he raised a brow and was about to tell me something but I interrupted him. "Don't worry, I'll take him on." _And crush him_. "He'll just have to wait for the last place." Cap seemed shocked but then burst out laughing.

"Damn, you're going to_ crush_ him!" That's the plan. "What the hell did the bastard to piss you off?" asked Cap laughing. I shrugged and then remembered something.

"Hey, why is it that Roark isn't the gym leader at Oreburgh?" I asked confused. I heard some rumors about what might've happened but I didn't know the solid-proof-ed truth. Cap stopped laughing and sighed, scratching his head while avoiding my gaze. I noticed he was uncomfortable about this topic, but I wonder why…

"You see…I don't know much from Sinnoh, but from what I've heard Jack is Roark's cousin." I nodded, a little surprised by the fact. I felt Noble shift on my head, probably unbalanced by my nod. (_'Sorry.'"It's okay.") _"Well, I heard that Roark died in an…accident…involved with some growing institution. It is called 'Survival'." He finished with a grimace, narrowing his beautiful blue eyes for a moment. Then, he seemed to snap out of it and laughed nervously. "But, you know, it's just a rumor!" It didn't seem like it, he seemed pretty sure about the fact. I didn't pry about it though. But I _did_ narrow my eyes at him.

"You seem pretty informed, I don't know why you say you don't know much about Sinnoh," I told him. To tell the truth, I was a little shocked that Roark actually died. I mean, they were the strongest trainers of the region, along with the Elite Four and the Champion. They had the strongest pokemons. But to actually _kill_ one gym leader…

"You see…" Cap scratched the back of his head again; I noticed that it was a sign that he was either nervous or anxious. "I…am not from Sinnoh…I am actually native from Hoenn," he told me. and I couldn't say I was surprised. I mean, he had strong pokemons, all of them native form another region(plus he didn't look all that rich to buy them from breeders). I already had my suspicions about the matter, but why was he so nervous about the fact.

"Are you illegal?" I asked him. I was just teasing, but with a straight face.

"What? No! I am a legal citizen of Sinnoh! I have my ID right here! And my passport!" He said taking out said items. I just sighed and waved him off. I looked down to my lap and saw that Hope was asleep. I glanced at the rest of my team to find them all asleep as well.

"_Noble, are you asleep?"_ I called to my psychic in my mind. s

Silence.

"_No, I'm awake."_

I chuckled lightly. It was obvious that he was previously asleep. I just woke him up.

I picked up my kirlia from the top of my head(prying my hand _gently_ from Dread's grip) and dropped to my back, my backpack somehow softening my fall. I put Noble in my chest, ready to fall asleep.

"Good night, Cap," I told him. I closed my eyes and yawned. Not a minute later, some shuffling and crunching of leaves, a good night was heard from Cap. I sighed and tried to fall asleep.

_Good luck on that one. _


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

That night, I was woken up by a nightmare.

I don't remember much of it, but I do remember being tied up in a room filled with men.

I woke up breathing hard and covered in sweat. I tried to calm my breathing by taking deep breaths, and after a while, it worked. I sighed shakily, looking down to found Noble and Epic looking at me in concern.

_"Are you okay, Mistress?"_ I heard Noble ask; though (in my state) I didn't notice the way he called me.

"I-I'm Fine," I told them.

_"Karp?"_

_"_Really, I'm fine," I said, this time with a little smile to be at least a little more reassuring. I felt the wind rush through our place while suppressing a shiver. It was a pretty cold night. I glanced back down and noticed that the campfire was out, so probably that was the cause of the coldness of the night. I sighed, before falling back on my back(no pun intended).

"I'm fine. Go to sleep, tomorrow we continue."

"_Whatever you say, Mistress." _I heard Noble's reply, though he sounded reluctant. Epic muttered a grudging 'Karp' before settling besides me, hopefully, to fall asleep.

I sighed once again, looking up pass the trees towards the night sky. I was tired, but I won't be able to fall asleep even if I wanted to. The nightmares, or constant reminders (like I would like to call them) of the world's darkness, came at least once a week. It was difficult to deal with, but I somehow managed. I mean, it _could_ be worse. As in, every night. But thankfully, it wasn't like that.

In a few hours (which I decided to spend looking around, sometimes spotting pokemons that only came out at night or even other trainers passing by in the distance) it was dawn. I decided to stand up and stretch, watching with an amused expression as Cap's Myghtyena woke up at my movements, giving me a look before leaving to (I suppose) hunt . After doing so, I returned Ambition, Dread and Noble. I left Epic out because he needed to evolve, as in ASAP, and also Hope because she needed to learn _Something_. Even if she _was_ my baby girl. I glanced at Cap and his team and sighed yet again.

"Hey, Wake up." I saw him groan and try to roll over, only to bump into his Marshtomp. He opened his (beautiful) blue eyes lazily, before sitting up and stretching with a yawn. I shook my head and looked back at my pokemon. "Are you hungry? I still have some berries left from yesterday." Epic gave a nod while Hope gave me a small growl. She didn't like berries that much; she preferred meat over berries, just like Dread. Ambition ate pretty much everything (including rocks), just like Epic and Noble(though Noble didn't like meat that much). I gave her a small glare while making a mental note to buy more canned meat at the mart of Eterna City. I gave Epic a couple of berries while leaving some for myself. Maybe I could make the Myghtyena give Hope some of his food(which undoubtedly consisted of other pokemon).

"Good morning," Cap said sleepily, still sitting on the floor besides his team. I gave him a blunt look.

"Good morning Cap. Now get off your butt and move."

* * *

><p>Three days later we arrived at Wayward Cave's entrance. And I was tired and dirty and sore all over from the almost-one-week trip, but Cap was doing worse than me. He told me his mightyena(who I learned was called Black) had angered a family of Kricketunes, which earned him a few bruises and scratches all over his body. Though the most serious one was the one in his arm, a nasty gash, he received from Dread when he tried to help me up and she lashed out at him. I was very surprised at her actions, and returned her after that. Seems like I got myself a very possessive pokemon in my team.<p>

Back to the point at hand, we were standing in front of the cave, wondering(or at least _I_ was)whether we should go in or not. It could lead us nowhere, or it could lead us to Eterna. Apart from the cave, there also was a small, almost unnoticeable, rock trail leading towards someplace.

"We should take the cave." I heard Cap say from his place besides his tropius and mightyena . I shook my head, still having my doubts but certainly opting for not going inside the cave.

"No. People say it's like a maze in there. We could get lost. Maybe we should take the road. Besides, there's a bridge up here," I said while pointing up, towards where a bridge was. I think it was a cycling road or something, what I _do_ know is that they don't allow people without bicycles there, probably because of the safety of people.

"But I read a guide that says that there's a cave near Eterna." I gave him a frown, actually a little offended by what he meant.

"Are you going to trust a _guide _over me?" He shook his head, but he had this determined look in his deep blue eyes, I have to admit that it surprised me a little.

"That's not it. But what are you? Twelve?" I narrowed my own eyes at the jab.

"I'm _thirteen_. What does that has to do with anything?" I was finally losing my patience with him. It was weird, since he always seemed to be the pacific-type of person. And now, here he was, defying me. he was acting out of character…maybe he was bipolar?

"Well, I'm bigger and _older_, so we're going to do things my way now," he said rather proudly. I just bluntly stared at him, wondering where the kind-hearted trainer went, leaving this arrogant version of himself behind. Maybe…he had a fever? I gave a frown and approached him carefully. He didn't move, looking at me dazedly. I sighed and placed my hand on his forehead(I almost failed due to his height), noticing instantly that, yes, my black-haired friend had a fever. I wonder _why_ though.

I sighed and backed off, taking out my Healball and calling forth Noble. He came out from a beam of light, giving his surroundings a curious glance.

_"What's wrong, Mistress?" _ he asked immediately.

"Noble, can you tell Cap's tropius that his trainer has a fever and that to cure him, we need to take this path," I told him, pointing at the rocky road. My kirlia nodded and went to deliver the message to the grass-type pokemon. I turned towards my friend, giving him a calm look.

"Cap, look, you are delirious and I want you to be okay." I had a mental image of talking to a child. "So we have to get to Eterna. And when we get there, we'll be able to help you."

"I don't need the help of a little girl," he said with deadpanned eyes. I was about to retort at him but he covered my mouth with his hand in a blur, too fast for me to react. I froze immediately. My heart started to beat louder and louder, my breath coming in pants, ragged. I whimpered when he neared me, because he wasn't_ Cap_ anymore, but _that monster of a man_. "Shhh, it's okay…" I faintly heard my kirlia growl from afar, and then Cap was sent flying away from me. I was left alone again, shuddering in fear and breathing hard. I tried to calm my breathing, the reassuring words at my head(_Noble's _words) making it somewhat easier for me. I felt tears pricking at my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. _Not in front of him. Not near a man, not again._

I looked up at Cap, he was staring at me weirdly from his place sitting on the floor. I gave him a glare, feeling utterly betrayed now then and there. I glared at him, picking up my kirlia from the floor.

"I-If you-if you touch me again, I swear-_I swear_-I'll _destroy_ you… I don't care if you die here anymore. I just…don't." I told him while scratching my neck unconsciously. I started to walk towards the rocky path, leaving the black-haired teen behind with his two pokemon to guard him and keep him company.

_"Mistress…Are you okay?"_

_'I'm fine Noble…Thanks.'_

I continued to climb until I heard a yelp and sounds from behind. I turned hastily, but relaxed slightly at the view I was granted with.

Cap's tropius was using a vine (_Shudders_) to put its trainers on its back, wrapping it then across his torso to keep him placed atop the grass-type pokemon. Cap kept struggling and ordering his tropius to let him go_("Green! Stop it!")_, with no avail. I saw Black walk up to me, nodding at me mutely. The bigger pokemon stomped right behind the dark-type pokemon, standing just behind me. I stood stunned for a moment, before realizing that Cap's pokemon were willing to follow me, _me,_ instead of their own trainer.

_"You underestimate yourself too much, Mistress," _I heard Noble whisper to me, but I paid him no mind. I just shook my head to scatter the thoughts before looking forwards: towards the path that awaited us.

It wasn't even an hour later that we were standing at the top, facing the side of the gate that was facing the Cycling Road in return. I gave a mental sigh of relief, too tired to appreciate nature or any person around at the moment. I started to walk, Cap's pokemon going behind me(Black giving growls to anyone that came close to his exotic team-mate) without any major protests. I walked through the gates, not bothering to look around the city(since it looked so _dull_) and walking straight towards the Red turfed Oasis: The Pokemon Center.

I entered, giving the woman at the counter(she wasn't nurse Joy, which meant she must've been busy) a huff, handing over my pokeballs and my kirlia before pointing towards where Cap's tropius was still carrying him(he went unconscious while we climbed the path, making me forget my earlier anger towards him and worry for him in return).

"Can you do something about him?" I asked tiredly. She gave me a raised brow and asked instead.

"Are those pokemon yours?" I shook my head. "Can you tell them to lower the young man? If you can't then we won't be able to help him out." I glanced back towards Black, but he was giving the woman a growl, his red eyes narrowed and his form hunched in a defense position. I sighed once again.

"Come on, they're going to help him. You should, _at least,_ let him get healthy." The pokemon just snarled at me in response, making me sigh. "If Cap dies is your fault." I said in a shrug. The nurse looked at me in surprise but I couldn't care less. I was tired, dirty, sore, betrayed(the feeling decreased, but it was still there), and I didn't want to deal with _any_ of this crap anytime soon. So I turned towards the nurse and told her to give me a room, that I was tired. Did I mention that I was irritated? Well, the nurse seemed to pick n my mood because she gave me my key without a word. I nod at her but Black stepped in front of me, giving me a snarl. I glared at him.

"What do you want me to do? You don't let me help, so I won't help." Black seemed to deflate a little, giving me a glare instead of his usual growl. We started a staring contest(which sound childish and idiotic, noticing my tiredness), glaring at each other for obvious reasons. After a while, Black muttered a 'Might…' before barking at the Tropius(who was outside the Center because it was too big to fit inside) a few times, making the other pokemon lower Cap to the floor carefully. Black went to his trainer's side, checking up on him while I just glanced back at the nurse. She was looking at us with wide eyes. Probably she expected the worse. "Is this good to you?" She nodded hastily. I nodded back, leaving the hall to head towards my room at the second floor. It was when I put my things on the floor that I remembered that I left my pokeballs down. I growled a curse under my breath, going back down, retrieving my pokeballs and _then_ going back up. When I entered, I released my pokemon, all of them stood on the floor, looking around the new room curiously. I just fell back on the bed, intending to sleep and rest. But _noooooooo_, that couldn't happen.

_"Mistress, you need to shower."_

_'…shut up.'_

_"Mistress, you'll get the bed dirty."_

_'…hmmmmm…'_

_"Mistress, I'll tell the others to make you a poke-pile."_

"Okay, okay," I groaned and stood up(gaining looks from the rest of my team), giving Noble a glare(my kirlia was looking pretty smug) and stumbling towards the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, I came out, feeling totally refreshed. I fell(once again) on the bed, not minding that I only had some underwear on and certainly not minding that my pokemon started to climb right after me. Noble teleported to my chest, curling up there before muttering a _"Good night, Mistress"_. Dread jumped to the bed(she almost fell because it was a twin bed and was too small for us) and settled at the foot of the bed, near my feet, resting her head atop my left feet. Ambition gave us a scowl (he was so amusing), but climbed in bed also, using Hope as support as he couldn't reach due to his height (or lack off). He settled next to Dread, farther away from me since she was resting her head on my feet. Then Epic climbed up with a sharp jump, he settled in my right side with a content 'karp', rubbing his head against my side. I smiled at him, ready to pat his head when I heard a whine.

'_Tra! Tra! Trapinch! Pinch! Piiiiiiiinch!'_

I looked back at my ground-type baby girl, chuckling. She (unlike Ambition) didn't have anyone willing to help her up.

"Come here," I said, creeping towards the edge of the bed to help her up. I almost dropped her(she was too heavy…) but managed. I put her in my left side of myself. She gave me a content 'Trapinch' before closing her eyes. Falling asleep.

Looking at my team, I couldn't help but feel the anger, betrayal and tiredness leave my body, making me relax instantly. I felt protected, secure, I felt like nothing could harm me anymore. Not if I stayed like this. Not with my epic team…

With those thoughts, I drifted over to the sleep land with a content smile.

* * *

><p>I woke up to growls, thuds, shrieks and a voice chanting in my mind <em>"Mistress, wake up,".<em> I groaned. I still felt tired, and sluggish, and sore, and I didn't _want_ to wake up, or do _anything_ for that matter. The bed was my new mate, my new love, my lover, my live, my _everything_(specially after sleeping on the cold, bumpy ground for days). I heard Noble sigh.

_"Mistress…" _

I sighed, opening my eyes to give Noble(when I didn't found him at my chest, I looked around until I found him on a chair that I didn't notice was there earlier) a glare. He just shrugged before glancing pointedly at the door. I followed his gaze, stopping my own gaze at the door that was being knocked on. I muttered something under my breath grumpily, standing up and wrapping a blanket around my body(since I still had only my underwear on) before heading towards the door, finding myself with an amusing sight.

The growling sounds were coming from Dread, that much was obvious, that was glaring at the door as if Arceus was behind to scold her. What really amused me was that Ambition, _Ambition,_ was also growling at the door. Hope was also growling, but that was understandable as she was a baby and she copies after the older ones. But Ambition took me by surprise, totally by surprise. I mean, he was antisocial, and mean and inconsiderate by all means. So to have him suddenly be protective made me somewhat proud of myself(though I didn't know why).

So I stepped by my pokemon towards the door, Dread immediately started to cling to me while Hope started to demand me…something…., and opened it. And I immediately froze.

_A hand covered her mouth before she could react, fear filling her eyes as he drew her to him. _

_"Shhhhh, it's okay."_

It was Cap.

I immediately made a move to close the door, though before I could close it fully Cap stuck his foot on the gap. I felt my muscles tense up in fear before threatened him in a shaky voice.

"I-If you don't want your foot bitten or Dragon Raged, I suggest you move it out. " _Please._ I mentally pleaded_. I didn't want this to happen again. Not again, not again, please, please just __**leave.**_

"Okay, I'll take it out but hear me out," I heard him say, but I couldn't say I would hear him out, because the moment he retrieved his foot, I would shut the door and crawl back to bed to spend the whole day evading him. "Please, just hear me out…" he pleaded brokenly. I wasn't about to feel guilty for him, not for anyone. He took in my silence and continued. "I…Ariann, I'm so sorry. I…I don't know how it all happened, but I know I was being an asshole. I'm sorry, Ari, I'm sorry…" I knew he felt sorry, but I couldn't…wouldn't…

_Why is this happening?! I don't want this to happen again. I don't want to have to trust someone new again. I don't want to leave him, but I'm so scared…I don't…but I should…I can't…I __**can't!**_

Contrary to my thoughts, I still had a poker face.

"Is that all?" I asked him coldly. I saw him flinch, a look of disbelief crossing his face before he looked at the ground in defeat, finally removing his foot. I closed the door loudly, sighing shakily. My forehead met the door's hard surface with a thud as angry and confused tears rolled down my cheeks.

_What should I __**do**__… _

On the other side of the door, I failed to see Cap slide down the wall, gripping his black hair. Apparently as angry and frustrated as I was…


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

I took the longest shower I had taken in years. Maybe the second longest shower in my life, the first one being the one to escape my Mom's wrath about something I did (I think it concerned my grades or something stupid like that). I remember I stayed three hours in the bathtub, waiting for her to calm down(even if the reason was stupid, Mom was scary when angry). This time though, I only stayed two hours in the shower. And most of the time I was staring at nothing, not even thinking.

When I got out, I met all my pokemon gaze. I was about to smile at them to reassure them I was okay, but Epic came bouncing/jumping at me. I readied myself to catch him, but it was too late that I realized that my magikarp had grown too big for me to _actually_ catch him. He practically tackled me to the ground, forcing my air out of my lungs. I groaned.

"Geez Epic, you've grown too big for me," I teased. I heard him mutter a grudgy 'Magikarp' and sighed. He probably was just trying to make me feel better along with all my other pokemon. I petted him and whispered a "Thank you, Epic."

I looked at my epic pokemon team and smiled slightly.

"Thanks everyone." They seemed to misunderstand the meanings of my words because soon enough, all of them began shrieking(except Ambition, my larvitar was too proud and detached from me to even do that.) and screaming, I could feel the overwhelming panic from my kirlia's questions inside my head. Someone was in distress. "Hey, Hey, I don't know what's going on, but don't worry. Everything will be okay, nothing will change. " That seemed to calm them down. I sighed yet again and made a bun out of my blonde wet hair. I put on my red hoodie and glanced back at them. "So that means, we're still going to challenge the gym leader today." Noble was a little surprised by my words, but Dread, Epic and Ambition were actually looking forwards to it. Hope was simply not paying attention anymore. I took their pokeballs from my back-pack, and returned all of them with the exception of Noble(since he was the smallest of all of them).

So, with Noble atop my head, I exited the room. And, boy, was I not surprised. I almost closed the door again, the thought of going out while using a teleport running through my mind.

Cap was sitting against the wall, just in front of my own door. He glanced at me quickly, opening his mouth as if to say something, but then he closed it with a snap. He looked away and glared at the floor. I raised a brow at him, actually a little irritated at him. It was his fault I felt angry (and a little betrayed) at him! And now he's trying to be all macho n me? Ha! As if!

_"Mistress, I think that's not it."_

Ignoring _both_ of them, I put up the hood of my hoodie(Noble fell from my head, giving me a glare for not telling him before hand) and decided to walk to the cafeteria of the pokemon center. It was then that I noticed that there were more people crowding. As in, a_ lot_ of people! Back in Oreburgh, there weren't a whole lot of people, but here in Eterna…well, let's say there are a lot of trainers in this city.

I found an empty table(I think that was miracle with all those people crowding in the lunch room) and proceeded to take out the rest of my team. They started to look around curiously, but before they could run off to somewhere and cause havoc, I told them,

"Stay on the table. I'll be bringing some food shortly." I put Noble on the table also, adding a mental command solely for him. _'Please, keep an eye out for them Noble.'_ I saw him nod and left the table with a small smile. Yes, Noble could handle them.

I entered the food area where a lot of trainers were in line to get food for them and their pokemon. Ambition, one of my few pokemon that could control themselves at the sight of food(the other one being, guess who? Yup, Noble.), walked behind me silently, glancing at the pokemon around with a scowl. I made a move to pick him up but he gave me a glare, _Don't you dare human_. I just gave him an amused smile and let him be. I waited for the trainers before me to move so I could get food for me and my own pokemon.

After like, 30 minutes or something(seriously, why was someone with a munchlax, of all pokemons, in this city?!), we finally got the food for my team. I sighed in content, finally…

"Well Ambition, Let's head back, okay?" I glanced back down, only to meet air. I groaned and mentally facepalmed. Seriously, what's wrong with him? I glanced around, trying to pinpoint his location. My eyes strayed towards the corner of the room, where my larvitar was growling at an arcanine. Well, damn. "Ambition!" I shouted at him while marching towards him with a scowl. He didn't even glance at me, the brat…

"Hey boy, is that your larvitar?" A voice snapped me into reality. I glanced around, then glanced up. Why? Well, because, to put it simple, it was the _biggest man I've ever seen in my life_. I swear he stood over 7 feet. I froze in fear immediately, though he didn't seem to notice it.

_"Lar…Larvitar!"_

_"Ar…"_

I saw Noble teleport besides me, asking me with worry, "_Are you okay Mistress?"_ I nodded to myself mostly, but Noble could tell I was lying(if only a little). Kirlias weren't emotion pokemon for nothing. Then I heard the man laugh, a strong and loud laugh that almost got me deaf.

"That larvitar sure has guts!" Now that I see him closer…He was broad and muscular(in all the definitions of the word), had a scar on his right arm. His black hair was tied in a ponytail, but some bangs fell over his face, which consisted of piercing brown eyes and strong factions. In conclusion, everything about him screamed 'POWERFUL'. I winced a little, all the while wondering how the heck I got in this situation. Ah, Ambition, right. I glanced at Noble and told him to tell Ambition to get _the fuck away from that arcanine_. My little kirlia seemed to get his job done, because Ambition backed down a little, glaring at me instead. I glared right back, not backing down. He gave me a huff and scowled to the side.

"Oh, you have a kirlia too! Then, how about I give you this?" I saw the man take out a rare stone, and before I could react, he threw it at me, straight for the face. I yelped but Noble used a confusion attack to stop the rock from splitting my forehead in half. Noble glared at the man, lowering the stone to my hands. I grabbed it and inspected it silently. It was of a blue color, almost aqua, small to fit in a backpack and carry to adventures.

"Thanks,"I told him warily. He just shrugged and started to dishevel his pokemon's fur, earning a glared from the fire type pokemon.

"'S Fine. I couldn't use it anyways." I nodded at him again and was about to say good-by until I heard Cap shout.

"Ari! Please! Help meeeeeee! I swear I'm sorry!" I sighed in irritation, deciding to help the idiot before something really bad happened to him. Don't get me wrong, I'm still pissed at him, but that doesn't mean I'll let him get seriously hurt or something.

I followed his shout, heading back to where all the tables were, but it was a different side of the room from the one I had my table on. I knew where Cap was by the crowd that was already surrounding the area. I hastily made my way through the crowd (being small has its own advantages) while avoiding unnecessary contact. There, in the middle of the crowd, was Cap being pinned down to the floor by Dread.

"Dread!" The gabite didn't even flinch, and that was when I saw another gabite smash into the one pinning Cap to the ground with a Take Down. I took a step forwards hesitantly and called. "Dread?" Both pokemon turned towards me, one in irritation and the other one in expectation, waiting for orders. I immediately recognized my girl. The other gabite glared at me and called blue flames to its mouth. I paled as I recognized the Dragon Breath attack. "Noble, Teleport!"

In a flash, we weren't in the same crowded area. Instead, we were in our own table with my team. Noble disappeared one more time and brought back Dread and Ambition. We were all together now. well, almost all of us…

"Noble, Cap." Noble just rolled his eyes in annoyance but decided to go back and bring Cap. I decided to give the food to my pokemon while Noble finished his task. Just when I finished giving Dread her own food did Cap and Noble teleported back. I gave Noble his food, muttering a 'Good job' before turning towards Cap fully. _Let's see what 'Hero' has to say…_ He seemed nervous for some reason.

"I-I am sorry, Ari," I heard him say while he stared at me in the eyes. There was sincerity in those blue eyes of his…Then he continued, "I don't remember well, but I know I must've hurt you. Or maybe I made something that made you lose your trust in me! I really don't know! Even my pokemon were mad at me! I-I understand if you, you know, don't want to travel with me anymore. But you must know that _that_ person wasn't me. I was delirious with the fever those wounds had caused. I didn't tell you anything because you seemed so eager to challenge the gym leader…" Okay, now that made me feel guilty. My companion didn't want me to worry for him, even though he was in pain. And here I thought he was actually not-trust-worthy and trying to **_use_** me…

I felt despicable.

I didn't notice I had stopped paying attention until I heard him ask, "So, is it okay for us to, you know, keep traveling as partners? If not! If not, we can still be friends right?" I felt myself nod at him, for both the questions. It was the least I could do for mistrusting him so badly. He stood there, wide eyed at me with a big smile on his face. The picture really reminded me of a little child, even though Cap was older than me.

"Really? Are you sure? I'll bother you a lot! You won't even have time to relax!" I knew he was just teasing, I could tell he was really happy. I smiled at him.

"Tell me, what would I do without my Hero here to save me?" I saw him blush scarlet red and splutter in embarrassment, and I let out a laugh. Only this time I wasn't teasing, I was telling the truth.

What _would_ I do without him? He was cheerful, a beam of light in the darkness, and strong, a gust of fresh strong wind. But above form all, he was my savior and friend. The only one who knew about my true self and my weaknesses and fears.

I smiled slightly at him.

_'What would I do without you indeed…'_


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

After eating(and explaining to my pokemon that Cap was on our side again) we went to a Poke Mart to restock our supplies. Well, Cap was doing all the buying. I was just watching, since poor little me could not afford to buy most of the things in the mart. I only bought two potions and an extra Poke Ball(you never know when you might need one, I learned that the hard way). Cap was buying potions, paralyze heals and antidotes. Eterna's city gym was, after all, a grass type one. Meaning, a lot of grass-type pokemon with powders and stuff to piss off the trainers.

Now, we were standing just outside the gym's doors. I had to admit, I was a little nervous of what would happen this time around. My last experience at a gym wasn't pleasant at all. And this time, I didn't have any type advantage like last time. If anything, almost all my pokemon were at a disadvantage. But I wasn't so worried about that, I was actually more worried about Gardenia's opinion than my own battle.

"Well, let's go." I heard Cap say seriously, making me glare at his back as he stepped into the gym. Good for him, he has a ponyta so his victory rests assure. Now that I think about it, why didn't _I _catch a ponyta? It would've become a rapidash, and that's a very good fire-type pokemon. Right now, all I have is two ground-types, a rock-type and a water-type pokemon. Summary, I'm totally screwed…Okay, _now_ I'm a little worried about my victory.

I stepped right behind my raven companion (and friend), but soon enough we were separated, the two of us engaging in a battle of our own with gym trainers. I saw my opponent throw a Poke Ball, a budew coming out of it with a cry, and threw my own Poke Ball. Epic was to go first since I wanted to leave Noble and Dread for the Leader herself.

"Go, Epic!" My magikarp was out, but I noticed something was wrong with him. He was just staying still, 'karp'-ing without a care. The fact that he wasn't bouncing or splashing was concerning. Then there was the blue hue to his red scales…Just what the hell is wrong with him?

"Budew, use leach seed!"

"Epic, use splash to dodge!" Epic splashed out of the way of the Leech seed attack and (without me needing to order him) tackled the budew to the ground. It didn't even made a move to get up again. I was so amazed by Epic's strength that I failed to see him shine. I did a double take at him, blinking dumbly before widening my eyes in surprise. A white light was enveloping my small Fish pokemon, making most of the people in the gym look at the light for a moment before returning to whatever they were doing before. Only Cap and the ones that knew Epic was a magikarp(and also knew what implied that he was about to evolve) stared. The light started to grow, stretching and shaping into something very familiar, almost reaching the roof of the gym.

The light faded and wasn't I amazed by the sight.

The familiar Disastrous pokemon was standing almost 20 feet tall, looking down at us with bloody red eyes. The mouth was agape, like expected, showing two big fangs and a few rows of teeth just behind those. The blue tail was moving slowly behind him, miraculously not smashing any of the trees around the place.

It wasn't until he roared a loud and powerful roar that the situation actually smashed into my mind.

Epic evolved.

_My _Epic had just evolved into a gyarados!

He let out another roar, nothing alike to his usual 'karpkarp' noise, and that made me think, what if I was just dreaming?...Nah, this couldn't be a dream, I was too happy for this to be a dream.

I saw Epic coming my way, making me stiffen as I remembered something I read about gyarados. _Gyarados are very vengeful and atrocious pokemon. Sometimes they even attack their trainers with no reason_. I let out a wince. What if Epic eats me and then burns down the gym?! He leaned down (Damn, now he's taller than me…), but I kept a serious face. If I was going to die, do it with pride, right? Though, maybe Epic isn't like that.(Please don't be like that! Please don't be like that!) He spared me one look, before rubbing his big head against my side, almost knocking me off my feet. I hesitated before petting his head awkwardly. He just purred at my touch. As in, _purred_. I didn't know gyarados could do that.

"You're a big boy now Epic," I told him. He just straightened and puffed his chest out in pride. I laughed at his face, at least it was more expressing that his other magikarp one. I took out my poke ball and said, "Well, I have to return you now." He growled at me and I scolded him silently with a glare. He just purred again and tried to coax me by rubbing his head against my side. This time I was prepared though and planted my feet to the ground, making me only stumble a little at his touch. "Not happening. I promise I'll send you against Gardenia." He seemed reluctant about it but I managed to return him before he cause havoc. He _was_ a gyarados now, so he'll probably have anger fits now.

I just sighed(ignoring the murmurs of the people) and turned towards the gym trainer.

"Do you have another pokemon?" The man just shook his head. I nodded at him, picked up my reward and went to Cap's side. He gave me a grin and a thumbs-up before returning to his own battle.

I grinned back. Epic evolved. I had a gyarados now. That meant that I didn't have to be laughed at anymore! At least for Epic's name. Also, Epic didn't have a disadvantage against Gardenia's pokemon anymore. I smirked at my own thoughts (heh, Gardenia, today you lose a badge, hehe) before turning towards Cap's battle.

Cap's mightyena was fighting an already looking faint cherubi, swiftly dodging the razor leaf attack. Then, the mightyena used a final crunch on the cherubi, making it faint instantly. I headed towards him as he collected his reward, giving one final smile to the gym trainer(I swear I saw glimmer and hearts around him when he did that), he headed towards my side to continue on our way towards Gardenia.

"You're lucky you only got one pokemon," he told me as he returned his mightyena, Black, to its poke ball. I just shrugged in response. I wasn't really lucky; I could use the practice after all. I was not all powerful like Cap and his pokemon. "Anyways, Congrats! You're starter just evolved. That's a very big step. For a moment there I thought he was going to eat you though." I just smiled amusedly at him.

"Yeah, for a second I thought so too. But he wouldn't do that, I guess." I _hope_ he doesn't.

"That pokemon sure is big." He laughed while scratching his head, ruffling his black hair for a moment.

"Yeah, Epic is epic after all." He just laughed at my words.

We continued our way towards where the gym leader, Gardenia, stood. She was giving a Forest badge to a girl. That's when I noticed the battle ground here was covered in plants, very much alike to the rest of the gym's decorations. There were trees at the corners of the room, but at the arena there were none. That's good, that way Epic can battle without having to destroy the trees or something important. Like that fancy looking vase at the corner of the room. Better watch out for that one.

Gardenia turned towards us with a smile.

"Are you two going to challenge me?" We both nodded at her question. She chuckled but went towards her side of the battle arena. I stepped back, letting Cap battle first, and walked to a side of the arena to fully watch the battle.

"Her, H-Hey!" I glanced back to see the girl that had battled against Gardenia just a few moments ago. When she noticed my gaze, she blushed and looked at the ground.

"I-um, I saw your g-gyarados! It seems to like you a lot!" I didn't know where she was going with this.

"Yeah…" Then there was the silence. As I started to pay attention once again to the battle(Cap just send out Black), I saw the girl start to fidget out of the corner of my eye. I mentally sighed.

"What is it?" I asked. She flinched and lowered her face, trying to hide her blush.

"Um, eh, em, I, I just wanted to ask…if you, by any chance, own a kirlia and a gabite?" she asked, looking at me in the eye with something akin to determination. I just raised a brow.

"Why do you ask?" I asked her back. I must've sounded rude, so I tried rephrasing my question. "I mean, why would you want to know? Not to be rude or anything, but one just doesn't ask random trainers if they have certain pokemon. Well, unless you're willing to trade, which I'm not, sorry." All of a sudden, the girl seemed to regret asking her question.

"E-Em, Well, you see, this morning, while I was in the bathroom, my gabite attacked someone. My friend told me that a boy with a kirlia and a gabite stopped him. I've been asking all the trainers to apologize but no one owns those pokemon." I saw her sigh in tiredness and thought that maybe she was having a hard time carrying with all the guilt. "So I'm sorry if you felt offended by my question." I sighed heavily, glancing momentarily at the battle where Black was losing against Gardenia's turtwig.

"It's okay. Nobody got hurt. And that one," I said pointing at Cap, "is the one that got attacked by your gabite. So you should apologize to him instead of me." She was looking at me with wide eyes, then glanced at Cap and smiled in relief. She probably was happy that the trainer was okay, unhurt. I was too.

"Thanks."

"Bayleef is unable to battle, the challenger is the winner!" I hadn't noticed the battle had ended so quickly. I watched Cap's ponyta, Red, gallop towards him happily. Cap's blue eyes turned towards me, his happiness visible by the grin on his face. He probably was happy that he only had six more badges to go. I felt happy for him, even though I myself still had to collect the eight badges. A sudden thought hit me like a tidal wave.

I was up next.

I saw Gardenia smile and give Cap his badge and a TM. The Technical Machine meant that he won the battle with passing colors. I stood up and walked towards the arena. I was starting to feel a little nervous. I mean, this is going to be my first gym battle! That is, if I don't screw up like last time, even if it technically wasn't my fault.

"Well, if it isn't the boy with the gyarados," she told me while I smirked. She just called me a boy, so that meant that my disguise was as epic as ever. I probably had mad cross-dressing skills. Thanks mother and father, because of you I am as flat as the floor. Wait, the floor has more curves and edges than I do!

Ignoring my thoughts (I have to admit that I felt a little bitter about them) I gave my ID to her. She took it calmly, but then did a double take. She glanced at me, then at the ID, then back at me.

"Are-Are you a girl?!" I mentally face palmed. Right, I forgot the ID had a picture of me. Well damn. Better think of that one the next time I go to a gym. I nodded at her, taking off my hoodie and my cap, my blond hair fell over my eyes in waves. I huffed and moved it out of the way, putting my cap once again on my head.

"Yes, I'm Ariann." She seemed a little curious about my cross-dressing , but accepted my challenge nevertheless. She gave me back my ID, which I pocketed in my pant pocket, and then asked,

"Well, how do you want to fight?"

"Three-on-Three." I replied, knowing that Noble, Dread and Epic would do okay in the battle. She nodded and we made some distance from each other.

I can win this. I _will_ win this. My team was strong. Even stronger now that Epic evolved. We didn't have much type weaknesses.

I am ready.

I saw Gardenia throw a poke ball in the arena, a small humanoid-like plant pokemon appearing out of it. I smirked, recognizing the roselia and the type advantage that Noble had over it. I took my heal ball and threw it. My kirlia was out and looking at its opponent in an instant. I took my opportunity to make my first move.

"Use confusion!" I told Noble without using his name(I didn't want another Jack rolling on the floor, dying of laughter, thank you very much). He seemed to understand though and sent the roselia flying towards the wall with the psychic attack. The roselia stumbled but stood firmly on its feet.

"Use Razor leaf!" I heard Gardenia order as her roselia threw some sharp looking leafs at my psychic.

"Teleport!" Noble disappeared and reappeared besides the roselia in a blink of an eye. 'Now, use a confusion!' I gave him another command. Noble complied, sending the roselia once again flying. Just as I was about to command another confusion attack, Gardenia returned her pokemon. I looked at her with a frown, but she only smiled at me. She threw another poke ball to the arena, and when it opened, I completely froze.

It was a carnivine.

I saw it use a vine whip against my kirlia, but _I couldn't move_! All I wanted to do was run and cry and **_leave already,_** but my body wasn't responding to any of my wishes. I stood frozen in fear, my mind giving painful flashes of what happened on route 206 making me feel restricted. My breath was coming in pants, my forehead was sweating, I knew Noble was being beat up, I could hear him asking questions in my head, but I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. I could only see the man, his hands, his mouth…!

**_DISGUSTINIG! _**

Then it stopped.

Blue met my Brown gaze, bringing me back to the present. I gasped, clutching whatever was closest to me desperately. I felt tears prickling at my eyes, but didn't bother with them. I was more interested at the blue eyes that were looking at me with worry, and at the hand that was rubbing circles on my back. Somehow, I remembered to take deep breaths to calm myself. I closed my eyes, breathing in and out, in and out.

I just had a panic attack. It probably was just the shock of seeing the same pokemon that almost got me killed (and raped) back then…

I opened my eyes, looking at the battle ground where Noble was lying unconscious. I winced, making a note to apologize to him later. I returned him, taking out Dread's great ball instead. She defeated one before, so she could take this one out too, right? She'll understand, right?

Just as I was about to throw her great ball, I heard Gardenia say,

"Maybe we should cancel the match." My eyes widened and I shook my head.

"N-No! It's okay!_ I_ am okay!" I truly was. it was just the pokemon that caught me off guard. But I swear I'm fine.

"You're definitely not okay," she told me firmly. I took a shaky breath, glaring at the floor, trying to ignore the sting of tears. I lifted my eyes, glaring at Gardenia instead. I threw my great ball to the arena.

"Dread, Dragon rage!" Dread was enveloped in a bluish fire as she started to run towards the carnivine. Gardenia could go to fuck, I am fine.

"Vine whip!" As a vine extended itself from the carnivine's body, an idea struck me like lightning.

"Slash it!" Dread took her claws and slashed at the vines, cutting them clean. I let out a sigh of relief, scratching my neck involuntarily.

I could still feel the vines_ wrapping and tightening… _

"Stop it, you'll hurt yourself." I heard Cap whisper at my ear. I looked at him in surprise. He was still here? And so near to me… I took a couple of steps away from him and nodded at him in thanks. I turned back to the battle and saw that the carnivine wasn't looking good.

It had scrapes and cuts everywhere. But Dread wasn't faring any better. There was a leech seed on her leg, bothering the hell out of her, and she had some cuts from where the razor leaf just cut her.

"Dread, use Take down!" I shouted at my dragon and Dread picked up speed while running at the grass-type pokemon, I then heard Gardenia shout.

"Use Vine whip!" I watched as the vines came towards my pokemon once again and called.

"Slash!" Seems like Gardenia wasn't a fast learner because she fell for the same trick twice. Dread Slashed at the vines, doing an extra slash at the carnivine itself. The carnivine fell unconscious on the floor, and I called back Dread, knowing she was tired. To my surprise, she headed towards my side and sat there, looking at the arena for the next battle. I patted her head, muttering a "Good Work", and took out my ace: My gyarados' poke ball.

I looked up and saw Gardenia frowning at me. I have to admit that I was a little surprised at her behavior. She looked like such a cheerful person, why was she frowning?

"I think I told you that we should cancel the match." I narrowed my eyes at her. Getting cocky aren't we?

"I think I told _you_ that I was_ fine_." I heard my gabite snarl at her from her place at my side, and I patted her head again to calm her down again. Why were my pokemon so…so _over protective_?!

"Whatever, go grotle!" I saw her turtle-like pokemon came out and gripped Epic's poke ball. It was now or never…

"Go, Epic!" I threw the poke ball, making it explode in a white light. A familiar sea-serpent-like pokemon came out, roaring and towering over the small grotle on the ground. It was intimidated (believe me, even _I_ was intimidated) and took a few steps back, nearer to the safety of its trainer. I quickly took advantage of that and ordered, "Use tackle!" Since this was my first time battling with my gyarados, I wanted to see him, check his speed and his movements.

Epic went with great speed(at least for a pokemon as big as he was) and slammed his tail down at the grotle. The ground seemed to shake a little, making me wonder, just how strong was Epic? A razor leaf attack hit him square in the face, making him stumble back towards me. he growled lightly at the grotle but waited for my orders. I took another look at the grotle, it seemed a little shaken up by the tackle attack but it wasn't about to give up yet.

"Again!" Epic went to the grotle to attack it again, but this time, a well placed vine whip threw off his aim, making his tail hit the ground instead of its original target. I told him to splash closer to him, and when my gyarados splashed, oh arceus. It was so hilarious. I mean, such a big pokemon bouncing, plus he was serpent like. He looked like a fish out of water. He _was_ a fish out of water. I let out a chuckle, the trainers around us were laughing openly and Gardenia was now smiling again. Epic, however, was not amused.

Instead of continuing to splash like I told him to do, he headed towards the grotle, towering over him with a glower. And with a powerful bite(I seriously didn't know Epic could use bite) the battle ended.

Just like that.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hey, this chapter is extra long as an apology for last one(since it was so short). <strong>

**Also, Epic evolved! Yay, finally! **

**Also #2, the cover image of the story is of how Ariann looks with her hoodie. I made another one of her with Epic, but that one is going to be posted in later chapters. **

**Hope you enjoyed!**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

I stared at my forest badge with a small smile. We just got out of the Gym, Cap congratulating me on the way out.

I had a badge. My _first_ badge! Yet, somehow, I didn't feel as happy as I thought I was going to feel. Yes, I was glad that I got my first badge, but instead of that hell-yeah-happy-attitude I thought I was going to get, I got a good-happy-attitude. It was weird. Maybe it was because the first badge I was supposed to get was Oreburgh's and this was the second on list? Or maybe I was just expecting her to laugh and all… Whichever the reason, I felt normal. No 'I'm so powerful I could take on the league'-sassy happiness. Maybe there was something wrong with me. Or maybe it was completely normal and those who felt 'All mighty and powerful' were the weird ones.

"Well, we can go to Oreburgh now," Cap told me, making me cringe. Already I was dreading spending another week on route 206. He saw my face and laughed. "Don't worry. I have a plan." I stared at him with a frown and he just smirked.

Somehow, I dreaded more Cap's plan than going through route 206 again.

* * *

><p>The next day, after restocking several items and healing our pokemon(I felt bad for Epic because I couldn't let him out in our room because he was a giant now. I made a mental note to let him out to battle in Oreburgh though, so he wouldn't be angry with me) we exited the Pokemon Center. Which brings us to the current object of doom, AKA, the bicycle of two seats. Oh, it seems I forgot to mention something…<p>

I have never successfully ridden a bicycle in my life. As in, ever.

They were just weird and gravity defying and _weird_! I swear, I once tried riding one just to fall(I don't even know _how_ I fell) and scrap all the right side of my body, including my face. I don't even know how it happened, it all just happened in a blur. One moment I was sitting on my blue bicycle and the other I was crying my eyes out on the ground. It was like magic.

And now, here was Cap trying to make me ride a two-bicycle like it was all okay! Well, let me tell you something, it wasn't.

"Come _on_! I just rented this thing!" He practically whined at me, while I stubbornly shook my head. No way in hell.

"I won't. I don't know how to ride a _single_ bicycle, and you want me to ride this…this _monstrosity_ with two seats? Nu-uh, not happening." People were starting to stare, but I didn't care (yet again).

"B-But! But it's faster! I swear I won't let you fall! You only have to pedal while I make the balance!" Even with his rather stupid reassurances I refused. I won't ride a bicycle and make a fool of myself again. I saw Cap sigh in annoyance, a hand going to his head to rub his hair, getting it out of his beautiful blue eyes.

"Okay, we'll do this the hard way then." I raised a brow at him, wondering just _what_ he will try to do. He was probably serious about using his Two-bicycle. Well, he _did _pay for it…Now I feel bad. "I'll just have to tell Dread that you want to leave her at Oreburgh." I just stared at him.

"She's loyal." And, there was _no way_ that I'll leave any of my epic pokemon. Ever.

"Then I'll tell Ambition."

"He's indifferent." I shrugged. Though I would love to see the reaction that the larvitar would give. He would probably just shrug or (finally) smile and run happily away from me.

"Hope?"

"She's as loyal as Dread." If it includes something to eat. The little trapinch always had a thing for anything edible(including rocks, socks, sheets, shoes, etc etc etc), so it was easy to get her back to my side if I just gave her some meat or something.

"Noble?" Cap was losing hope as he kept on asking about my team.

"He's a psychic." My kirlia would see through his lie like a knife could tear through butter.

"…Epic?"

"…Do you want to be gyarados food?" I teased with a pokerface on. I think he took it seriously though.

"Okay okay!" he shouted throwing his arms up in the air in mocking rage, making me smile. He gave me a mocking glare, later lowering his eyes to his bag when he didn't get a reaction from me and taking out something that caught my attention lightning quick. "How about this, if you come with me through the road _with_ the bicycle, I'll teach this Technical Machine to your gyarados." He told me while showing me a TM that I had never seen before. This wasn't the one Gardenia gave him, that one was green, this one had a pale blue color surrounding the inner circle.

"Where did you get that?" I asked him in surprise. I also wanted to know what the TM held.

"This? Found it." Cap shrugged, smirking when he realized he had my full attention. "So, you coming?" I gave him a suspicious stare. He was probably lying to me. I mean, finding a TM was very rare. Most of them were given by veterans or bought at stores. Not just _found_. I gave him one last suspicious glare before sighing in irritation. I can't believe I'm about to break my moral code for this…

"Okay whatever…Just so you know, I'm doing this for Epic. Oh, and just so you know, I suck badly at riding bicycles." I added as an afterthought. Cap seemed happy enough with my acceptance and just stored the TM back in his bag. And with a new purpose in my head, I headed towards route 206 yet again.

* * *

><p>"I knew you were bad, but not<em> this<em> bad!"

**"**...shut up."

I laid on my back, staring at the _beautifully _blue sky after our third fall. I was starting to give up on the TM. I mean, maybe it wasn't even worth the pain and the humiliation! I'm sorry Epic, everyone, but…this is it…I cannot go any further…

"Come on! We already ran one fourth of the road!" That didn't make me feel any better. If anything, it gave me a reason to go back.

The only benefit I was receiving from this…this _abomination_ was that I could train with Ambition and Hope.

Hope was actually an excellent digger, excelling the moves Dig and Bite. She was a good fighter, if only a little weak when compared to the others. But that's something I could easily change when we got to Oreburgh. She will be a strong baby girl now.

Ambition though, was starting to grow bigger, along with, to my surprise, Noble. I didn't expect for Noble to be so near to evolving again. And, while I was focusing on training Ambition and Hope, there was always the time where I'd have to pull back either of the two, and Noble was a pretty good fighter too, so I let him go out once in a while. Dread went out to battle also, but not as frequent as the other three. As for Epic, well, let's say he just didn't fit in the bridge…Yeah.

Erhm, by the other side, I had my first double battle!

And I. Kicked. _Ass_!

Not literally of course (it's been quite a while since I kicked someone), but my pokemon did!

"Ambition, use Sandstorm! Hope, use Dig!" A quick sandstorm covered the small cycling road, filling it with an annoying brown dust that got into people's eyes and hair. A lot of people turned towards us when they noticed the battle was just starting. I saw Hope dig a hole (how she managed to make it in a _bridge_ was beyond my comprehension) and jump into it, waiting then for further orders. I analyzed the purgly and buitzel on the other side of our make-shift battle arena. If we could take out the purgly first, the buitzel would come down eventually…that is if they don't take one of us out first.

"Purgly use Fury Swipes! Buitzel, cover her up with a Water Gun!" I smirked in anticipation(or maybe it was just adrenaline?) and waited for the other two pokemon to get together for their combined attack. When they did, I shouted.

"Ambition, use Rock Slide!" My larvitar made rocks fall on the other team with a very good accuracy. The purgly got the full force of the attack, while the buitzel(being far more agile than the cat) leaped out of the way with a grace that not even a Glameow possessed. Well, it was now or never: The fall of the great Purgly Kingdom!

"Hope, use dig!" A few seconds later, my dear trapinch came out of the ground, knocking into the buitzel-Wait, buitzel?! Wasn't she supposed to attack the purgly so Ambition could finish it off!? Damn, maybe I should've specified whom she had to attack…Oh well, change of plans! Ambition shall take on the purgly while Hope will try to take on the buitzel. "Hope, use bite!"Since my little baby was still near the water pokemon, it turned out rather easy for her to bite the hell out of him…And not let go. Ambition was still bombarding the purgly with some sharp rocks while it tried to desperately fight back(which was kind of impossible because Ambition is a Rock-type and it was a Normal-type. Also, it didn't have any long range attacks like Rock Slide. Heh, my win.)

"Water Gun, Buitzel!" Damn. I tch'ed as the buitzel unleashed a powerful Water Gun attack on my _ground_-type pokemon, forcing her to let go of its tail.

"Use Dig Hope!" And back underground she went, back to safety. Ambition was just besides a knocked out Purgly (Yeah!), looking at it with a bored look on his face. The sandstorm subsided, leaving the place full of sand and dirty. Too bad, it gave us such an advantage…

Not that we needed one now…

"Ambition use Rock Slide on the buitzel!" I made sure to specify who my pokemon had to attack this time, learning quickly from my errors. Ambition made the rocks fall on to the buitzel, but the trainer was already ready for this.

"Dodge it!" As expected.

"Dig!" While the buitzel was still in midair, dodging the attack courtesy of Ambition, Hope came out of the ground, slamming into the water pokemon with all she got. Well, it wasn't _that_ strong, but it managed to knock the slippery pokemon off of his feet for a second.

And a second was all I needed.

"One last Rock Slide, Ambition!" As Hope came back to our side, Ambition used one last Rock Slide that almost buried the other pokemon alive.

And that was my first double battle! YAY!

Since I couldn't keep up with my happy victory (and the adrenaline running through my veins), I decided to later pair up with Cap in a double battle.

….let's just say that our coordination wasn't the best…Yeah…

"Black, use Crunch!" Cap's Mightyena went to the enemy's ponyta, giving it a strong bite while I glowered at Cap from my place next to him.

"I told you to take care of the damned Shellos!" The slimy little blue thing was going to wipe the floor clean with Hope if he didn't.

"Sorry!" Cap quickly told his mightyena to switch targets (earning a roll of eyes from said Dark-type pokemon in return) but before Black could leave, Hope attacked. The attack(Dig, it was always Dig with her) hit both the mightyena and the ponyta straight on. After our pokemon's display, Cap gave me a glare of his own and then he asked in a rather nasty tone.

"What the hell was that?" he spat at me, making my mood turn sour. I returned the glare whole-heartedly.

"I _warned_ you, but you didn't even try to listen to me."

"I was _about_ _to_, but you had-"

"Shellos, use Surf!"

Let's just say that the floor was wiped clean with _both_ of us.

But apart from having an experience about how to work on double battles, and Hope and Ambition gaining some experience, the ride wasn't that bad. The worst were the falls and the people snickering at us, but that was part of life and life was cruel. Anyways, we crossed the cycling road on the same day, arriving late night at Oreburgh. We arrived pretty much late, so we just had eyes for our rooms and our beds. I took a room at the Center for at least three days, because I was planning on training Hope and evolving Ambition and Noble. If the trip took too long, then I'll just have to ask for a few more days. Cap, on the other side, was happy about the 'vacation'. Even though it wasn't a vacation at all.

At that time, we didn't know that a region-wide attack was about to happen.

And that Oreburgh was about to fall down in panic.

* * *

><p><strong>AN; <strong>

**I'm sorry for the late update! also, thanks for those who reviewed and Favorited/followed! **

**I'm actually a little mad at my friend, so to release all this anger I decided to write a little. But I bet you don't care about my life, so lets talk about the matter at hand…**

**THIS CLIFFFFFFF! Well, I have to suffer from cliffies a lot of times, so-**

**HA! NOW ITS YOUR TURN! **

**Erhem, Anyways, the next two or three chapters are going to be important for later chapters(and when I say later chapter I mean LATER- as in 50 chapters later. Yup, my story starches that far.)**

**Well, apart form that, I hope you liked the chapter! If not, well, I will try to put the other chapter ASAP. **

**Well, I think that's pretty much it…**

**…yeah.**

**AN; OUT! **


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16:

I sighed as I stood from my place on the dining table from the Center, I took our trash and went to take it into the trash bin.

"But seriously, having an Onix would be a good asset to my team," Cap told me as he too took his trash to the trash bin. I sighed as I readjusted my hoodie over my head. I don't know why, but there were a lot of trainers recently in Oreburgh. We've only been here a few days and (Compared to when I was here weeks ago)it was noticeable that it was more crowded.

The gym leader (I didn't ask for _him_, I simply overheard some trainers talking) was out on a meeting with some of the other gym leaders that was supposed to last a week or two. So the newbies were taking it slow, just living their lives without a care and not training. So, guess where they decided to go to spend some time? No? Not any guess? Well, I'll tell you.

In the freaking CENTER!

If you walked, you'll bump into someone, if you chatted, someone bumped into you. It was infuriating! Once, a trainer almost entered _my_ room. All I wanted to do at the moment was to unleash Dread's fury. But I didn't, of course. I was a good girl (and _very_ patient. _Very_.)

Back to reality!

I turned back to Cap, staring at him with a smirk.

"You only say that because my gyarados is taller than your tropius." He started to protest but I ignored him, going out of the Center. After all, I had to train Hope. She still had to keep up with the others after all.

I paused in mid walk as I remembered that none of my pokemon had met Epic's evolved form. I made a mental note to take them out and introduce them later. Instead, I released Hope and Ambition(these were the ones that needed to work out more) and gave them strict orders of obedience. They, as usual, agreed.

Cap decided to join me in my excursion towards the south of Oreburgh City, where there was a cave we could practice in. When we got there, I finally released my caged water/Flying-type pokemon.

Epic stretched, giving a loud roar (Pssss, show off), making me earn looks from some of the trainers that were around the area. Ambition immediately was on the defensive, giving Epic a snarl while Hope wasted no time to burrow underground, waiting for further orders (or that's what I think. She could be running away from me at this very moment…). Epic gave his teammates a growl, glaring at them for dominance, something Ambition was not going to accept. Neither of them were the submissive type after all.

"Cut it out you two," I told them with a glare. Ambition scoffed at me, looking to the side with a scowl.

"_Lar_."

Epic gave me a side glance, but obeyed nevertheless.

Cap gave Epic a big grin and decided to join me and my pokemon.

"Epic! You've sure grown, big boy!" I saw Epic from the corner of my eye, and he was glaring at Cap with a low rumble-it wasn't loud enough to be a growl. I sighed. If this gets into a fight, Cap would end up wounded badly before he can get one of his own pokemon out. After all, gyarados weren't atrocious pokemon for nothing.

After that, I decided to send Ambition and Hope around to explore. Epic was still glaring at Cap while Cap stared at him with a smile. And I was starting to get nervous.

"…Um, Cap? Could you…?" _Stop it._ I never got to finish my line because Cap's face lit up in understanding.

"Ah! The TM! We can check it out right here!" I had almost forgotten about the whole TM ordeal. I was still trying to survive the bicycle ride back then. Instead, I nodded at him.

"Yeah, that's what I was about to say." Cap didn't seem to mind that I was practically lying at him, only taking out the TM to teach it to Epic. Epic gave the TM a curious look, but was still not curious enough to get anywhere near Cap and the item.

"Come on Epic. I'm going to make you big and powerful." I deadpanned at Cap. Epic was already big and powerful. Were Cap's persuasion skills that bad? Epic scoffed, looking away from my black-haired friend in arrogance. I sighed.

"Come on Epic, this will make you more powerful. Plus, you won't have to use Splash anymore." I hoped. If the item was useless, well, let's say Epic will have my head.

Epic narrowed his eyes at me, probably considering the options of not having to make a fool of himself again and having himself experimented on by something he didn't know of. Well, let's reassure hima bit.

"It won't hurt. I swear." I _hope_ it doesn't hurt. I don't know if it does, I am not a pokemon.

After a few minutes of persuasion, Epic decided to agree. Cap told me to return Epic to its pokeball and then give the pokeball to him. I gave him the pokeball(Ambition and Hope came back to me, probably thinking that we were about to go train) and he took out a weird box-like machine I could not recognize.

"This is a TM Case. If you put the TM here," Cap signaled to a slot that fitted a TM perfectly. Cap put the TM without a second thought, as if he'd done this many times before. "and the pokeball here…" He signaled yet again to a spot atop the device, placing Epic's pokeball there. "Voila~" The machine started to hum, making Epic's pokeball glow with a blue light before it stopped. The TM Case let out the TM like a DVD would to a movie.

"That's it?" I asked. Cap smiled and gave me Epic's pokeball, whom I let out instantly. Epic gave a growl, slamming his tail down on the ground in an angry fit, before locking eyes with me. The answer was obvious, he wanted to test his new power. I gave him a smile.

"Go ahead. Show me what you got, Epic." Epic complied immediately, opening his mouth and letting a blue beam out of it with amazing power. What really got my attention of the attack was the frozen ground that remained where the beam was launched.

"Nice Ice Beam attack…" I heard Cap mutter. Ice Beam, huh?...That's actually kind of neat.

"_Lar!"_

"_Pinch_!"

I glanced at my pokemon, noticing how amazed they were at the attack. Epic was just standing proudly, making me smile.

Epic was still old Epic. He was caring(for his own teammates anyways), tame and obedient. The only thing that changed was that he was bigger, more powerful, and more fierce and short-fuse than before.

"Good job Epic! Nicely done!" Cap grinned, making Epic snarl at him viciously. I just sighed.

"Epic, cut it _out_." I growled at him, making him turn his glare towards me instead. I narrowed my eyes at him, making him growl at me for a minute before turning his attention towards Hope(who was currently messing up with his tail). I sighed and turned back towards Cap. "And _you_, stop taunting him."

"I didn't! I was just praising him!" Cap put his hands up defensively, while I just stared at him.

"Well, whatever you're doing, stop it." Epic was probably all hormonal with the evolution and stuff. Or maybe he just plainly hated Cap…Meh.

After giving Epic my worked-for TM, we decided to finally start our way towards the cave South from Oreburgh City. I was certainly sure that there were more trainers than usual at Oreburgh City. I mean, this type of crowding wasn't normal. Even near the cave grounds (which were supposed to be isolated) were full of people. When we finally arrived at the entrance of the cave, we saw a sign that said, 'THE CAVE IS OFF LIMITS FOR THE TIME BEING. PLEASE WAIT UNTIL THE GYM LEADER COMES BACK. THANK YOU.'

"Aw! And I wanted an Onix too…But I wonder why it is off limits…" I gave him a raised brow. Didn't he read the sign? Cap caught my eyes and frowned.

"What? Don't tell me you really believe this crap! Jack made it very clear that he didn't care about this cave at all." I had to admit, Cap was right on that one. After Roark's death, from what I've heard, Jack hasn't placed a sole foot inside the cave. He only cares about the minerals that the workers extract, checking them once in a while. But inside the cave? Never.

"I suppose you're right…" I muttered.

"Excuse me!" I jumped at the loud volume of Cap's voice. My black-haired companion was waving at a worker that was near-by, making me smile in amusement. Cap was so childish sometimes. "Can you tell me why this cave is off limits?" The worker was tall, taller than cap, and was previously talking to a dark-skinned girl, who gave him an annoyed look when he came to Cap to attend him.

"Well, you see, since Jack isn't here, well, there could be accidents and all…" Cap shrugged and thanked him. Meanwhile, I was still wondering...Maybe the man was lying? I mean, he was stuttering a lot and he didn't look like the shy type… But that's stereotyping. Well then, what about the other workers? Can't they keep an eye out on the cave? Maybe they took a day off! Then why does it sounds like it doesn't fit!

"Ari? Earth to Ari? Ariaaaaaaaann?" I slapped his hand away from my face, where he was waving it like ccrazy. I gave him a glare.

"Let's go." It wasn't my business. It wasn't anyone's business, apart from Jack's and the workers'. Somehow, those thoughts didn't comfort me.

"But my onix! I bet we can sneak in like ninjas! Black can help-"

"Cap…Don't. Just….don't. Let's just get you an onix when Jack comes back." I told him, dragging him by the back of his shirt. Ambition and Hope exchanged looks, the first was annoyed while the second was excited(probably she thought I was playing a game with Cap or something), before following after me. I let him go after we were a fair distance from the workers at the cave.

"You know what? That excuse was fishy." I glanced back to see if no one was following after us. When he asked why, I started to explain everything I had thought during our meeting with the worker. Cap nodded at me in understanding. "I don't know if it's something good or bad, but I swear that there is something going on down there." Cap gave me a smirk, the sapphires for eyes he had shinning with mischief, reminding me just how hot he is(ignoring his sometimes childish personality).

"Then why don't we go check it out?" There was nothing more to be said, so I just nodded at him.

A few minutes later, we had our pokemon all healed up. We were currently at the mart, buying supplies in case something bad happened. And happen it did, only not in the cave.

I was sitting on one of the chairs of the pokemon mart (which was as crowded as the other places), waiting for Cap to finish his buying (he was actually flirting with the girl on the counter) when a bunch of people entered the place. They were clad in black, head to toe, and had weapons at their hands. From baseball bats to guns and shotguns. I immediately froze, as did everyone in the small store.

"This is a region wide attack, so don't bother in fighting back, okay?" the girl on the front , the leader, said with a smirk while pointing her gun at some of us. Something about her caught my attention, a tattoo.

A black SP on the back of her hand.

The T.V on the mart changed from the boring program it was giving to a more known one, the Sinnoh News. A woman who everyone knew as Pollity Sweer was standing there with a grimace, a microphone gripped firmly at her hand.

_"A region wide attack has reached Sinnoh, devastating it with the death of some trainers, officers and even pokemon in the way. The gym leaders have called off the-" _Suddenly, the camera changed. It lost it focus on the woman, changing towards a house that got hit by a flamethrower at this exact moment. I recognized the lava-like pokemon as a macargo. Lightning fast, a steelix came out of the ground, knocking into the macargo and knocking it out instantly. It was then that I noticed the drawbridge and the boats near the house-that was Canalave City. The camera turned back to where Pollity was standing, a machamp behind her (undoubtedly for protection), paper white and scared stiff.(_But weren't we all?) "T-That-What we saw just now, it was Gym Leader Byron's Steelix fighting against an enemy's macargo. The battles here and on Hearthome city are being taken care of by the Gym Leaders-"_

With three shots of her gun, the TV crumbled to the ground, not useful anymore. We all turned towards the girl with fear. The girl tch'ed at the TV, before giving us yet another cocky smirk.

"We're survival. We're humanity's heroes. And we came here to take away you pokemon-permanently."

And for the first time in my life, I found myself terrified of a girl, men be damned.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Begin!<strong>

**Okay, so sorry for not updating earlier! Thanks for those new favs and folls, and reviews! **

**Also, yay! ANOTHER Cliff! Hope you hand in there for the next chapter. You get it? Hang?...Yeah.**

**Erhm, well, I also hope you like the Halloween special! It gives you hints of the future pokemon Ariann is gonna catch(which is like waaaaaaaay later in the story).**

**I guess that's it…yup. **

**AN; End! And happy Halloween!^.^**


	17. Special

Team Epic: Halloween Special

It was a day just like any other. People and pokemon were training, battling, shopping, walking or simply living their lives. For a certain group it was no different.

"No~ble! Ambition is being mean to me again!"

"I'm not, you're simply too annoying."

"Ambition, stop being rude to Hope. She just wants to spend some time with you."

"Then tell her to 'spend some time' with Epic instead!"

"Fuck off, I ain't gonna play babysitter for you, scum."

"Meanies! _Meanieeeeees!"_

Yup, completely normal.

The ninetales just sighed, looking at the bickering persons with something akin to exasperation in its eyes.

The petite girl with big red eyes and light green hair(made into ponytails) was pouting at the tall blue haired male with a permanent red-glare on his face. The small girl was wearing a short dress with many shades of green, along with a red ribbon at the back while the tall male was wearing a simple blue and yellow shirt along with some worn-out jeans. Apart from the difference in their clothing, there was also a very noticeable difference in them. And it was the height. The blue haired teen was practically a head taller (if not more) than the petit girl, making him tower over her without any problems.

Standing besides the blue haired teen was another male trying to play mediator between the two. He stood upright, looking at the two with annoyed red eyes. This male, though, looked _way_ too formal compared to the other people in the room. The green haired male was wearing a white suit with a green shirt under, combined with a red tie. Surprisingly, the combination fitted the pale teen just fine. There was also another green-headed teen in the room; this one was openly scowling at the other three with bloody-red eyes. Unlike the other two green-headed teens, this boy had bits of black and dark green on his hair, giving him a sort of rebel-like look. To fill in his look, he was wearing a red and black shirt with khaki pants.

And last, but not least, was the beauty of blue hair(and the ninetales' worst nightmare), that was watching the show silently with a grin on her face. Her yellow eyes (unlike the other ones who all had red eyes) were fixed on the other four, but her hand refused to stray from the ninetales' golden fur (much for the ninetales' dismay). Her slender naked legs were crossed, exposing her skin all over to where her blue shorts ended, leaving close to nothing for the imagination of whoever might get the chance of seeing her. Her red shirt was short-sleeved, exposing even _more_ skin, though she didn't seem to mind.

The ninetales let out a growl, alerting the others that the fight it was currently seeing wasn't what it wanted. Immediately, the blue-headed girl reacted. She narrowed her eyes and snarled at them fiercely.

"Stop it, you're disturbing Ari-Dear's mood!"

"I'm sorry, Ariann!" The petite greenette apologized, petting the pokemon with a sheepish grin.

"I also apologize," the firm teen in the suit said, even if he had done nothing wrong in the group. He bowed slightly before shifting his eyes towards the other two teens that hadn't apologized yet. The other two just looked away, not meeting neither the teen's nor the pokemon's gaze.

The door of the room was slammed open, surprising the teens inside. There, standing with a frown on his face, was a young white-haired man. He had red eyes and straight white hair with a sole black bang at the side of his head. He was wearing all white, with the exception of his boots and black undershirt (that was being worn under a white jacket). The frown on his face softened slightly at the sight inside. He scoffed, before motioning the other teens with his head.

"Let's go."

"Okay~ Let's go, Dread!" The petit brunet started to drag the other female, who followed after her with a sigh. She was, after all, the baby of the whole group. At the door, she turned and gestured for the boy in the suit. "You too Noble!" Said boy sighed tiredly, massaging his brows before heading towards the smaller girl. She grabbed both his and the other girl's arms, dragging them out the door with a grin.

The rebel stared after the blue-haired beauty for a long time, until she was off his sight. He shook his head and stood up, walking towards the door. But before he could get there, he gave the ninetales a small pat on the head. Soft and quick, but full of love and care. The rebel continued on his way out of the door, leaving just the ninetales and the dirty-mouthed blue-haired teen.

He gave it a long stare, making the pokemon return it whole heartedly.

After a few seconds of staring, the boy let out a chuckle. He bend down and picked up the pokemon in his arms(not much of a problem, considering he pokemon was smaller than most ninetales and that the boy was unnaturally tall). He stood up, carrying the pokemon along towards the door with a gentle smile that could only be seen when the two of them were alone together.

" 'Still remember when you were a fucking runt," he said with a chuckle, earning a glare from the fire-pokemon, who wasted no time in biting the male in the arms that were currently carrying it. The blue haired boy just let out a laugh, not bothered by the pain in his arms, and kissed the pokemon on the head. It was quick and soft, caring and loving.

"Let's just get the hell out." He whispered, setting the pokemon once again on the floor before walking out of the room. The ninetales gave him a growl and ran after him, intending on making him carry it again.

* * *

><p>Ariann opened her eyes, giving the ceiling of the pokemon center a deadpan look.<p>

"I did _not_ just dream I was a pokemon."

She _did_ _not_.

…Yeah…

* * *

><p><strong>¡Happy Halloween! <strong>


	18. Chapter 17

**AN:**

**I am really, really sorry for the late updates. As in, really sorry. **

**But i have the perfect excuse! i didnt have internet for two whole months! i think it's going to be three months this one. i swear i am dying! **

**Oh, and why and how am i updating if i dont have internet? well, i am actually at a fast food, where they have free wifi, you know the drill. and as for the why, you can all thanks a certain Guest reader for it. Certain reader let me a nte that had me thinking...'Yeah, maybe i should update.' So, thanks Secret Guest Reviewer! **

**I really want to thank everyone who is reading this story, following it, favorite-ing it and reviewing it. really, thanks!**

**Well, on with the story! and sorry again for the late updates!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 17<p>

The people in black—_Survival_, the girl had said—started to take our pokeballs with swift and quick movements. Though they didn't need any force, the fear was enough to make us trainers give our pokeballs without any resistance. The newbies were mostly crying, some even trying to hide their pokeballs so they wouldn't be taken away. Of course, there was always the stupid trainer that thought that he could win against the bad guys and took out his pokemon to fight…

…some of those pokemon never stood back up.

I gaped as a young boy's piplup was tossed to a side without care with a bullet wound on its head. If before I was scared, now I was _terrified_.

I didn't know what to do. Survival had yet to take away my pokemon, probably because they were distracted by all those trainers that were trying to rebel or maybe because they hadn't got to me yet. But I was screwed up anyways. If I gave my pokeballs, if I gave my _team_, we would surely be separated. On the other hand, if I didn't give my pokemon away, and tried to fight back, Survival will surely kill them all (myself included). If anything, I rather give my pokemon _and_ myself (as an added bonus) to the terrorists in black clothing; just so my pokemon and I wouldn't be separated. But there was also the probability that my pokemon could take us all out of this mess. I gazed at Cap for guidance, hoping that he had a better plan in mind. But to my horror, my black haired friend was being kept in place by gun-point, supporting a bloody nose and an even more bloody shoulder. When had all that happened?!

"Cap-!"

"Hey you! Your pokeballs!" I glared up at the man (…I'm _not that_ small…), cursing him and his bad timing. Of course, sooner or later, someone would try to take _my_ pokemon away. But I wasn't going to let that happen, at least not _willingly_. I straightened and narrowed my eyes at him.

"Fuck you." His face turned red from anger, making me smirk mentally in triumph. He opened his mouth to shout something at me, but before he could another trainer beat him to it.

"Go Rhyhorn! Use Tackle!" A female trainer called to her pokemon, immediately causing a ruckus in the mart. Using the commotion in my favor, I hurriedly took out Noble's pokeball, taking him out in the process. While the girl with the Rhyhorn attacked the Survival members, Noble waited for my orders. Though, I think he had in mind what I wanted him to do.

"Get all the pokeballs out, open them and then come back for—"

"Little punk!" I winced, turning towards the man that was trying to take my pokemon away just a few minutes away. I hurriedly told Noble off, making the psychic pokemon teleport away from me. In just a blink, my kirlia took a bag full of pokeballs from one of the Survival members and teleported outside. Towards safety. Glancing back towards the problem at hand, I prepared myself to bolt out of the big man's grip. He cursed at me and at my pokemon before making his move. He moved forwards (more like _stumbled_) to make a grab at me, his movement slow and predictable. I made a back-step, moving swiftly out of his reach, and kicked at one of his legs. I don't know _how_ or _why_, but he fell to one knee. And I wasn't stupid enough to stay and see if he was going to stand up again. I turned around to run—

Just to have a fist planted to my face painfully.

And I swear to every legendary pokemon out there that _I saw freaking stars_.

I fell to the ground—no wait, '_fell'_ is putting it too graceful. A drop-dead-like-fall would've fit me perfectly at the moment. Anyways, I was on the floor, still in shock because apparently my mind hadn't figured that_ I got fucking hit and that I had to fight back now!_ But damn, it hurt! How can a damn punch hurt so much! I've never been punched before (I was always the pacifist in everything, so I never ever fought before) so I took a pretty hard awakening. I blearily blinked, trying to get those annoying black spots out of the way so I could at least stand up. I felt someone lift me up rudely by my forearm, making me wince a little. _Great_, more _pain_.

In my dizzy/semi-unconscious state I failed to see the female trainer (the one that had caused the ruckus) dead on the floor alongside her unconscious Rhyhorn.

A very familiar click made me come to my senses, having me stare directly at the familiar barrel of a gun. Well, this one was slightly different than the others. For a start, it was bigger, longer-

"Where did it go?" A female hiss broke me out of my musings. And it was then that I noticed that it wasn't a man, but the leader of the group, that dark-skinned Survival girl. I blinked at her slowly, my mind not registering the question yet. The pounding in my head was making it too difficult for me.

"Noble is a _He_, not an _It_."

"I do not care!" she roared at me. Boy, she had a big mouth. I winced at the volume of her voice(my head was still hurting, thank you very much), later glaring at her in distaste. She narrowed her eyes at me, pressing her gun harder against my head. Apparently, she didn't like disobedience. "Listen, you bitch. You're going to do what I say, or else…" She whispered threateningly, pronouncing each word carefully.

"Drop your weapons!" I hadn't noticed before, but another group of armed men and women had entered the mart. This, my brain, seemed happy to explain. _They're the police! Look at their insignia! We're saved! _And Yays and Yahoos. The leader of the police's group pointed his gun at us, the other officers following his lead, the pokemon at their sides (They had pokemon with them) glaring at the Survival crowd. The rest of the trainers(the ones that were alive anyways) started to get evacuated by the police officers that had psychic pokemon. Only I wasn't part of the 'rest of the trainers' anymore. At the moment at hand, I was a hostage. _Just_ what I needed.

I saw the Survival members regroup around their leader, who was smirking at the officers in cocky confidence.

_"Please Noble, come back and teleport me away from this thing!"_ But I knew he wouldn't be able to hear me. I didn't know _how_ I knew, I just did.

"If you don't want the little girl to get hurt, then _you_ drop your weapons," She said smugly, full of confidence and in control. Through the pain, confusion and tiredness (because I was tired of this already!) that was roaming constantly through my mind, a single thought repeated itself as clear as day.

_I still have my pokeballs. I still have my pokeballs. I still have my pokeballs. I have a chance to fight back. I can fight back. __**I can fight!**_

I felt around my pockets for a pokeball, _any_ pokeball, so I could at least defend myself in this situation. The first one to come up was my Ultraball, the one that held in my larvitar.

I gripped the pokeball in my hand and waited for the right timing.

…Yeah, that's what I wished I had done. Instead, I let the pokeball drop to the floor and shouted as loud as I could.

"Use Rock Slide on us!" The Survival members were surprised by my shout (hell, even I was surprised by my shout), giving me a chance for me to get away. And just in time.

A bunch of rocks and sand(who knows where they came from) fell atop the group, making them all start to shout in pain and try to take cover. By the time the attack was done, I was by Ambition's side, giving him a pat on the head. I let out a sigh, relaxing a little now that I had one of my pokemon out with me. I swear, I'm not going to stay in Oreburgh again. Never ever.

I turned back to the group and appreciated my larvitar's work.

The survival group was mostly covered in rocks, sand and debris. Only few of them were able to escape the attack without a scratch. And those few that escaped without a scratch were now pointing their guns at—me!

I yelped before starting to scramble backwards. My back made contact with one of the mart's counter, stopping my escape. Before any of the Survival members could start to shoot at me, the officers opened fire at the delinquents. They had no option but to shoot right back at the officers. I tried to be one with the counter(Counter! Fusion with Ariann! And with the power of—no? Okay), getting as far away from the two groups as I could. When Ambition seemed ready to jump into the fray too, I called him back to his pokeball. I didn't need an injured pokemon. I really didn't.

A stray bullet almost took my head off(it was like two feet away from my head, but still-), and suddenly I wanted to cry my eyes out. I am going to die! I'm sure as hell going to die!

"Girl! Are you okay?!" A policeman called from the other side of the mart, making me turn towards him hastily. He smiled and opened his mouth to reassure me, but his pokemon jumped atop of him, taking him out of the way of a couple of bullets. The man turned back towards the group with a scowl before starting to fire again.

I tried to move closer towards the door, creeping as slowly and silently as I could, before a hypno appeared before me. The yellow pokemon was looking at me intently, moving its charm before me with its paw. I didn't move, freezing instantly at the sight of this new pokemon. Was it friend or foe? Before I could say something, it grabbed my arm and everything turned white.

Thankfully, we just went out. I blinked at the mass of people that was crowding outdoors. Were all these people trainers? I turned towards the hypno to thank it, but it was already gone. I glanced back at the trainers outside, straightening myself a little. I can't show any weakness. Even if I almost died back in there(I almost died!), I couldn't afford it.

So, I took a deep breath and prepared myself mentally. I am okay. I am okay. I am okay. I am safe. I don't need to worry about anyone.

Well, except for Noble and Cap.

Now that I mention it, where _are_ they?

I looked around the place, trying to locate any of my two only worries at the time being. I started to walk around, glancing around the bunch of trainers that were reunited with their pokemon and friends. I noticed that most of them were crying. Some from pain, others from grief, and others for happiness. I guess I sort of wanted to cry too. But not in front of these people. And certainly not when I still had to find Noble and Cap.

"Noble?! Cap?!" I called around, earning a few glances (and even some glares) from some of the trainers around. I didn't care though. I was more determined in finding Noble. I glanced around, but no kirlia appeared.

I was about to shout again, this time I was a _little_ more desperate, before a familiar pressure settled atop my head.

_"Yes?"_ I sighed in relief, instantly relaxing. It was Noble. My kirlia was okay, thank Arceus… _"Are you okay, Mistress?"_ I heard Noble ask, his tone was worried. Maybe he was as worried about me as I was about him.

"Now I am," I replied, reaching to him. I took him from his perch on my head to my arms, wrapping him an embrace that I hoped wasn't too tight.

Noble was okay. Noble was _safe_. He was right here with me, and he was alive. Thanks Arceus, thanks Arceus, thanks Arceus…

Noble didn't move an inch, probably feeling my distress, and let me hug him without any complains.

It took a few moments to compose myself, but when I finally did, I released Noble from my hug. I still had him in my arms though, just in case.

"Noble, where is Cap?" Noble turned to look at my face for a second, before turning back towards the front, pointing at the distance. I squinted my eyes at the distance, trying to search for what he was signaling, but all I was seeing were trainers and their pokemon. All of a sudden, a crowd of trainers parted, letting me see beyond them. Letting me see a certain fruit-carrying pokemon.

As soon as I spotted Green, I started to jog towards him, knowing that Cap was with him. While I got closer and closer I started to hear snarling. When I got there, I noticed that it was Black, Cap's mightyena, the one that was snarling at everyone that got too close to him. Upon further inspection, I noticed the reason why.

Cap was on the floor.

I felt fear grip me once again, freezing me on the spot. There was blood oozing from the wound on his shoulder, his face was completely blank, with an added extra pale complexion. He didn't look alive at all.

_"He's alive, Mistress. Only unconscious."_ I sighed in relief, but it was only short lived. Cap was still bleeding. He was still in danger. And Black was being hostile enough to keep the paramedics at bay, not letting them do their work and help my friend out.

Cap could die at any minute.

"Noble—" Without me needing to complete my sentence, my pokemon teleported away. He knew what I wanted him to do; he knew I wanted for him to convince Black to stop. I turned back towards the rest of Cap's team. The tropius, marshtomp and ponyta were looking at their master and friend with concerned faces. Okay, let's try to convince them. "Guys, if Black doesn't stop the medics won't be able to help Cap and he will die." Straight to the point. _Smooth Ariann, Smooth_.

The three milder pokemon looked at each other in surprise, muttering to each other in a language that I couldn't understand. I turned back towards Black briefly, just to see him trying to crunch on my kirlia.

"Noble, come back!" Noble immediately complied, teleporting to my side in an instant. When he was near me I noticed the injuries on his body due to Black's uncooperative attitude.

_"I'm sorry, Mistress. The mightyena says that Capricorn is safe with them. That he always has been," _Noble told me, guilt lacing his words. I patted his head in comfort.

"It's okay Noble, Caprico—" I then realized Cap's real name. _Capricorn_. No wonder he didn't want me to know it. It wasn't a bad name, but it was a little funny.

Another rain of snarls broke me out of my musings. Black was snapping and snarling at his own teammates. It was obvious that they didn't want to fight each other, but the mightyena was determined on protecting my black-haired friend.

"Noble, return for now. I'll take care of this," I told Noble, taking out his Heal Ball to return him. My psychic surprised me by shaking his head.

_"No,_" he said. When he noticed my surprised stare, he flinched. _"I-I mean, can you let me out, Mistress? P-Please. I-I want to protect you…" _

"But you're hurt," I told him with a frown. He didn't back out though. He just looked at me with red pleading eyes, and I knew I couldn't say 'no' to him. He probably knew it too. I sighed in defeat. Noble sure could be stubborn when he wanted to. "Okay, okay. Whatever. Just don't do anything that puts you in danger." I pocketed his Heal Ball and took out my Pokeball. I neared Black slowly, knowing that the dark-type pokemon would have no problem in hurting me. "Black? You know me right? I'm Cap's friend." Black's eyes lit up in recognition, but he was still growling at me in warning. "We need to get Cap to a hospital, Black. If we don't, he'll die." He snarled at me, squaring himself before his trainer. He clearly didn't want to let me pass. I looked down at my Pokeball before throwing it.

A flash of light and a loud roar, my gyarados was out. A plan formed in my mind, but I would only put it in motion if Black didn't surrender against us.

"If you don't let me get Cap, I'll hurt you." I glared down at Black, Epic growling at it in a threatening manner. Black glanced at Epic out of the corner of his eye, but stood firm. I sighed, mentally ordering Noble to follow my plan B. "Your choice. Epic, Intimidate." He didn't need to be told twice. As Noble disappeared from my side with a teleport, Epic stood tall, baring his teeth at the mightyena and snarling at him. Black refused to back down though, and returned the action whole-heartedly. The distraction Noble needed was perfect.

Nobel returned with a bunch of minimized pokeballs. Four pokeballs that were for Cap's pokemon. I thanked Noble and turned back towards Black. I started to say 'return' with each pokeball, until one(the last one) absorbed him in a beam of light. You should've seen his face. He would probably kill me later, but at the moment I didn't care.

The moment the dark-pokemon was under control the medics took Cap to the Pokemon Center(The hospital was still being held by the Survival members), telling me that I could go visit him when I wanted. I pocketed Blacks pokeball and turned back towards the other three pokemon.

"So, who's is this one?"

It was later that I found myself sitting on a chair at the Center's lobby, waiting tiredly for news on my friend's condition.

And I really hoped they were good ones.


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

I was shaken awake by someone.

I jumped on my seat, not realizing that I had fallen asleep while waiting. I looked at the nurse that woke me up, she was smiling kindly at me.

"You've been here all night. Don't you have a room? They're free." She probably mistook me for a beginner. I yawned, stretching a little. I heard a crack. Damn, sleeping on these chairs were going to kill my back.

"I have a room. I was just waiting for some news on my friend," I told her. She smiled, encouraging me to continue. "How is he? Is he alright?"

"I'm sorry, but I'll have to ask you to specify…" I mentally slapped myself. Of _course_ I had to specify. A lot of trainers were injured after the attack from Survival. Some even died or lost their pokemon. I was just glad that my team and I just got away with some minor scratches.

"His name is Capricorn," I told her, his name feeling weird on my mouth. It was always Cap or Hero, or even Savior, so calling him Capricorn felt weird. It was a funny name, a good and funny one. _'Heh, I wonder what face he will put when he hears me call him that…' _

The nurse nodded thoughtfully, and retreated to the counter. I got up after her, following her to the counter. The nurse smiled and gave me the number of his room. She told me that Cap was okay, only a little roughen up. I thanked her and left to visit Cap.

It was on the second floor, so that meant that Cap's room was now nowhere near mine (mine was on the first floor). I sighed tiredly and made my way to the stairs to check on Cap. When I got to the second floor, I got attacked by an unnerving silence. The hallway I was currently on was as empty and creepy as they come. And that only made me feel scared. I swear, if a ghost suddenly appears, I'll have a heart attack…

I stayed still for a few minutes, and when nothing out of the ordinary happened, I started to walk. I made sure to keep as quiet as I could, not wanting to startle anyone(or _anything_) out of their sleep. I kept looking at the numbers of the doors, looking for Cap's door, while keeping an eye out for any other thing that could appear in the empty hallway.

Then, someone appeared.

As in, out of nowhere! I almost died! If it hadn't been for the hypno besides the person, I swear I would've shrieked like a banshee and run while screaming murder!

I sighed, trying to calm my erratic heart and relax myself. I gave the person a wary side glance, noticing something familiar about him.

Where had I met a person this big before…?

Ah, it was back in Eterna. It was the big muscular man that gave me a stone back in Eterna's Pokemon Center.

He seemed to recognize me or something, because he walked towards me and stood there, looking at me directly in the eye. Well, he was actually _glaring down_ at me(at least from my perspective and point of view). I gave him a frown, which he returned.

"So this is the girl you saved, huh?" the man muttered to himself, but I heard him anyways. Girl? I touched my head with my hand, and lo and behold! I was a girl again! I mean, my hoodie was down and my blond hair was cascading all over my back and shoulders. I felt the urge to get away from him then, knowing that he saw me as the girl I was and not as a boy. He made me feel extremely vulnerable. "Do you have a brother?"

"Excuse me?" I asked him, shocked. Did he ask for my dear brother? I _did_ have one, but—

"I mean a twin. I met someone in Eterna that was identical to you." I sweat dropped at him. He was obviously talking about me. And he was obviously confused. I forced a smile and said,

"That was me. You gave me a rock, remember?"

The man laughed. It was a loud intimidating laugh not befitting of the quiet center hall we were currently in.

"That was a Dawn Stone! It was for your kirlia! Did you evolve it yet?" I stared at him, because I had _no_ _idea_ that _that_ piece of rock was a Dawn Stone. I mean, people just don't go giving Stones to random trainers. It wasn't normal. I thought it was just a pretty stone.

"In what will he evolve then?" I couldn't help but ask. If a kirlia didn't evolve into a gardevoir, then into what? The man grinned at me.

"In a gallade, of course! They are psychics and fighters. They're loyal too!" the man told me, making me think about having a gallade as my pokemon.

I haven't seen one, never even _heard_ of one, so it was very possible that they were very rare. Also, fighting type pokemon were kind of cool. I nodded to myself, already imaging Noble as a gallade.

"Anyways, thanks for saving me," I told him, looking at the hypno with a small smile. I was grateful to both of them, even if I was a little mad at myself for being such a damsel in distress.

"It's okay! Where are you going?" he asked me casually. I shrugged.

"To see a friend, since he was injured and all…" I cut myself off, not knowing why I was acting so familiar towards this giant. "Well, I'll see you later?"

"Yeah, see ya!"

After our brief conversation, I continued to search for Cap's door. I found it very quickly, but hesitated. I don't even know _why_ I hesitated. I guess that's what you do when you visit someone that's sick or injured, right? I shook my head. Cap's fine. A little injured, but fine. Nodding to myself, I opened the door.

I looked inside, immediately locating Cap in a bed. I walked inside, locking the door behind me and walking to his side. Cap was covered in bandages in some places, including his shoulder area, from what I could see. His black hair was plastered to his face, which was sweaty and bruised, by the way. I sighed, nearing my friend, attempting to remove his hair from his face. When my hand hovered over his hair, it locked. It froze and refused to near him anymore than it already was. I cursed and retreated my hand, walking away from Cap and sitting on the floor on the other side of the room. This way, I could watch him and anyone that came through the door.

I glanced at the ceiling for a long moment, not thinking about anything in particular. After a while of staring at nothing, I took out all my pokeballs. I took Epic's first, putting it in front of me, then I took Noble's, putting it besides Epic's. After them were Hope, Ambition and Dread's. I made a line with them, from the first I met to the last one. A Pokeball, a Heal Ball, a Luxury Ball, an Ultra Ball and a Great Ball. I smiled at myself, before letting out Noble.

I pocketed the other four pokeballs while Noble looked around the room in curiosity.

_"Is he going to be alright, Mistress?"_ Noble asked me looking at Cap's sleeping form.

"Of course," I answered without skipping a beat. Noble eyed me carefully before nodding to himself. I smiled at my pokemon and took him in my arms. I sat him in my lap, looking at the ceiling once again.

"What do you want to evolve into, Noble?" Noble tilted his head to the side, probably frowning, though I couldn't see his face from my position.

_"I don't understand."_

"Well, you can choose what you want to evolve into, unlike the others. You can either choose a gardevoir or a gallade. To evolve into a gallade you'll be given a stone, while to evolve into a gardevoir you'll just have to grow by yourself. You'll look better as a gallade though, at least you won't look as girly as a gardevoir does." I told him. Of all the pokemon of the world, the gardevoir were top 10 of the most girly-looking ones.

"_'Girly'?"_ he repeated, making me chuckle. Noble was, after all, a very prideful male pokemon.

"A…gallade is…best…" I jumped out of my skin, looking up to find Cap smiling at us weakly. I smiled at him and stood up, walking to his side.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, he nodded and tried to sit. "I think you should lay down," I told him with a frown. But he shook his head and tried to sit up anyways. I rolled my eyes and moved to help him out. But like when I was going to brush his hair away, my hands froze at my sides. I tried again, but all I managed was to make my hands tremble. I cursed my fear of men under my breath, glaring at my hands in distaste. While my heart wanted to help my friend, my mind was screaming at me to let him stand up for himself. That he could do it. Suddenly an idea came to my mind. I didn't need to help him. _I_ didn't. But Noble could.

"Noble, can you help him sit up, please?" My kirlia nodded, teleporting to Cap's bed and using his Confusion attack to help Cap sit up as gently as he could. Once he was sitting on his bed, Cap nodded at us in thanks. I sighed in relief. At least I helped my friend in some way.

"Do you need anything? Water? Something to eat?" He smiled and shook his head. "I don't even know how you got hurt," I muttered, annoyed that I wasn't able to help him with anything. Those words seemed to cause a reaction in him, making him flinch and look away. I frowned. What was wrong? I put some thought to the words that I said earlier. '_I don't even know how you got hurt'_. Now that I think about it… "How _did_ you get hurt?" _What did you do to get hurt, Cap?_

He looked away from me, avoiding my question and my gaze. I narrowed my eyes at him dangerously.

"Cap, what did you do to provoke them?" I asked him, with more force this time, but he still refused to talk to me. "Capricorn_, what did you do_?!" His eyes widened in shock at my knowledge of his full name. I softened my glare into something more soothing, and, in a softer tone, I told him, "It's okay. I won't tell anyone, I promise. Just…" _Trust me_. Hard to say when even _I_ didn't fully trust him.

"I-…" I looked up, his beautiful blue eyes meeting my own brown ones. Only this time, his blue eyes weren't as beautiful as other times. This time, his eyes were tinted with something dark, something cold. _Fear_. "I was there…"

"'There'?" I repeated, confused. _Where_ was he?

"…When they killed Roark…"


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

"Wow, Sinnoh is such a beautiful place!" Capricorn Yoderus shouted at the center of Sunyshore City. He just arrived two hours ago and he was already in love with this region. Luckily, he was able to bring his pokemon with him from Hoenn. He really didn't want to stay in Hoenn to travel. After all, he knew Hoenn like the back of his hand. His parents were travelers and took him to everyplace they went. His two brothers didn't want to travel in Hoenn either. The youngest one wanted to be a scientist and travel to Unova(but couldn't leave yet due to his age), while the oldest of the three went to take on the league on Kanto. So, Capricorn decided to travel to Sinnoh.

And he regretted nothing.

Capricorn walked back to where the Staraptor(amazing bird pokemon, by the way) was waiting for him with its master. The person with the staraptor was a guide, responsible of taking the tourists around the region. It was nice, having someone receive you and show you around. In Hoenn, you had to fend for yourself with no one to worry about you.

"So, where do you want to go?" the guide asked.

"Jubilife." Capricorn answered with a grin. 'That's where life begins for all the trainers!' or that's what the manual of Sinnoh said.

"Sure," the man said, mounting his pokemon and waiting for Capricorn to do the same.

In an instant, they were flying over Sinnoh's beautiful land. Capricorn's eyes shinned as they passed over the trees, over the houses, over the routes and pokemon trainers. His blue eyes shined with excitement like a kid's would in Christmas. He memorized every little detail and enjoyed the moment. He grinned, thinking that maybe Blue and Green(His marshtomp and tropius) would love the view.

After an hour or so of flying(Capricorn didn't know this, but his guide was growing tired of him always asking questions along the way), the staraptor started to feel tired. They had to land on the entrance of Mount Coronet, near Oreburgh City.

Capricorn looked around excitedly, often asking the man with the staraptor what species some of the pokemon were.

"And that one?" The man sighed yet again, answering the excited black-haired foreigner.

"That's a bidoof."

"Wow…" The man facepalmed. Bidoof were weak, so why was this brat excited with?

Suddenly, an onix roared in the distance, the sound echoing and bouncing off the walls of the mountains. The man knew that Roark liked to train his pokemon at this route, so he paid the roar no mind. Capricorn, however, was searching frantically for the Rock snake pokemon. The man rolled his eyes at the other's childish attitude.

_'What is he? Ten?'_

An explosion shook the earth with its power.

The two males froze on the spot, sharing a glance with each other before sprinting towards the direction of the sound. The man called to his staraptor while Capricorn followed close behind with his own pokeball in hand. But boy, none of them were prepared for what awaited them.

Roark was fending off a blue jelly-like pokemon(it looked like a slug) with his own pokemon, an onix. A rhyhorn laid a few feet away, being beaten up by a fierce looking snow-man pokemon. Capricorn froze on the spot, his grip on his pokeball turning white, his blue eyes widening with horror and dread. This wasn't a pokemon battle…no…

This was a fight…a fight to death…

The guide joined the fray with his staraptor, helping Roark and his onix with the slug pokemon(Someone had called it a Gastrodon…was that it's name?). The Rhyhorn though, couldn't keep up the attacks from the Ice pokemon and finally fell. Its opponent didn't stop its assault though, and kept bombarding the fallen pokemon with its attacks.

"You should've stayed out of it Roark!" A voice shouted from where the pokemon were fighting. In the battle field across from Roark, a woman in her mid twenties was glaring down at the gym leader from her perch atop a dragonite. Capricorn wanted to help, he wanted to help _so badly_, but his feet refused to move, his hands refused to drop the pokeball, and his eyes refused to look away.

"You know I couldn't do that! How could I stay still and watch as you fools plan to kill all trainers and pokemon! Our partners! Don't be absurd!" It surprised Capricorn how much hate laced the leader's voice.

"We're Survival! That's why we're here! To help humans _survive_ from the atrocities that pokemon help occur! That's why trainers shall also die! They just encourage those actions! That's why…" The woman's voice was loud and clear at the beginning, but at the end her voice dropped, making Capricorn loose the rest of the sentence.

Roark's pokemon did hear whatever the woman had to say, it seems, because the next thing he knew, the pokemon were roaring and snarling at the woman. Even the Rhyhorn(who was on the floor bleeding) stood up to try to fend off the ice pokemon. The onix let out a Roar, charging at the slug pokemon with Rage.

At that moment, no one seemed to notice the gun that the Survival member had until it was too late.

* * *

><p>"T-The bullet hit-hit him s-straight in t-the head…s-so Roark-he-he died in an instant…" I was shocked at the revelation. I only heard Roark, Fight, Death, Bullet, Death.<p>

And poor Cap was there to watch it all unfold before his eyes. I always knew that Cap had a past with Survival, but I never expected it to be so _deep_. I never expected it to scar my friend so deeply. Now it was obvious why he was attacked by the group of terrorists. He probably tried to stand up for someone or said something that bothered the Survival members enough to make them shoot at Cap without killing him. Watching him now, I could tell just how much damage that memory had done to him.

He was shivering, his hands gripping his blankets as if he couldn't let go. His eyes, though, were the worse. His usually deep blue eyes were glazed over, as if he were still trapped in his memories. As if he were in his own personal hell.

It was then that it dawned to me that I could've been Roark. I could've been one of Roark's pokemon. I could've been one of the pokemon that died today. I could've been a victim.

It really dawned to me that I could've _died_.

And unlike with the men on route 206, I knew that my pokemon would've died with me too.

"I…" I didn't know what to say, I was at a total loss. Should I comfort him? Apologize? Tell hit that it was all okay (when I knew it wasn't)?

"I'm a little hungry…" I heard him say, obviously trying to lift the mood. I nodded at him, standing up and taking out one of my pokeballs. I let out Hope and told her seriously,

"Keep an eye out on him." Hope nodded and I left without another word.

As I made my way to the first floor, I felt Noble's pressure on my head. I waited to see if he wanted to say something, but since he didn't, I continued walking.

My thoughts were all a mess. I could only think of Cap and Survival. Of Roark and the woman. Of the gun and the bullet and the pokemon and death. Death of pokemon, Death of partners. Death of trainers, Death of friends. Survival, an opportunity to make the world better. Survival, an opportunity to make our world break down in panic.

I shook my head, forgetting that my kirlia was sitting on my head and almost making him fall over. I sent him a mental apology, continuing on my way.

_"…Mistress…"_ I heard Noble whisper at me telepathically.

"Yes?"

_"I…I don't want to be a girly gardevoir…"_ Noble sounded so embarrassed that I almost laughed at him. He was still with that? I coughed, trying to hide my laughter. It was sort of cute, that my male kirlia didn't want to end up being a girly…gardevoir…I ended up snickering after all. _"Mistress! I am serious!"_ I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing. It was exactly as I said: Noble was a prideful male pokemon. Maybe a little bit too prideful, but that's okay. That's what makes him Noble.

I smiled at him, patting his head to calm him a little.

"Alright, alright. We'll check that later, okay?"


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Later that day, things between Cap and me were better. Sure, there were still silently awkward moments but apart from that, it was totally okay. Or as okay as things could be, anyways.

A few hours after, Oreburgh was free from Survival members. It was all thanks to some of the veterans, gym trainers, and, obviously, the police. The people that were seriously injured were moved to the hospital, while the others(like Cap) stayed on the Pokemon Center. The damage done to Oreburgh wasn't as much as the one done in the other cities. Like in Canalave, where the gym and some of the houses were destroyed, or in Jubilife, where a total of 49 people were killed. Compared to the other cities, Oreburgh was probably the least damaged one. And at the moment I wasn't complaining. I would've given my parents a call if I have had a phone, but since I didn't have one, well, I didn't (The Center had a phone but I wasn't going to waste my money on a stupid call).

Anyways, a couple of days later, Cap got better. And I think it was for the worse…At least for me.

"Please!" Cap begged for the who-knows-what time, while I shook my head 'no' at him. He sighed. "But I just want to go out…"

"You're injured. You can't," I told him bluntly while not really paying attention at him. If you paid too much attention, he would convince you. He already did it once with a nurse, and almost succeeded.

"It's just an injury in my shoulder! It should be fine! And besides, the only thing that made me pass out was the blood loss! I am perfectly sure that I should be fine to go," he told me, probably feeling very proud by the way he puffed out his chest. I was only half listening to him. He already told this to me, like five different times. He only changed his words so it wouldn't sound like he was repeating himself. And even if what he did made sense, it was better to be safe than sorry, right? "Come on!" he finally snapped at me, noticing that I wasn't paying attention to him anymore.

"I said no," I told him calmly, petting Hope on my lap from my place on a nearby chair. Then Cap went on complaining on how I was being a bad friend, a Mother Kangaskhan, and a bad friend once again. I decided to ignore him (I was getting good at it anyways), paying attention to my pokemon instead. Apart from Hope, Ambition was also out and about. Actually, he was just sleeping in a corner of the room, doing nothing out of the ordinary. He was probably bored as hell and mad at Cap, because thanks to Cap's injury we didn't have time to train. But I wasn't in a hurry to train my pokemon, I had plenty of time—my whole life actually. If they wanted to train so badly, they'd have to wait until Cap heals up. Then, maybe I'll have a chance to evolve Ambition and Noble.

"Pleaaaaaaaaaaase!" Cap whined loudly, waking Ambition up. The larvitar gave my black-haired friend a death glare, obviously annoyed by Cap's constant whining. I winced. If this kept going, Cap will get injured. Again. And not by a mere person, but by a very angry, annoyed larvitar. "Then you can train your pokemon! That's what you want, right?"

"I'm in no hurry to train," I told him with a shrug. The only thing I wanted was for Cap to heal, so we could continue traveling. That was what I really wanted.

"Come _on_!"

"I said: no."

That kept repeating itself for a few hours, even though I ignored him most of the time. He finally gave up when Ambition stood up with a growl.

The other day, though, Capricorn seemed even more determined to get out of his room. He went as far as making jumping jacks (avoiding his injured shoulder, of course) to prove that he was okay. I was mildly convinced by him, so I asked the nurse to check up on him to see if he could travel again. She said he was fine to go, as long as he didn't move his shoulder too much(_"Wouldn't want to reopen that wound," the nurse had said_).

Which brings us to here and now, at Oreburgh's mine/cave thingy.

"Why don't we catch you that onix?" I asked my friend, pointing at a wild onix that was looking at us warily. I had Hope and Ambition out, Hope for training(she was catching up very fast) and Ambition to evolve him. Cap shook his head at my question, making me frown. "Why not?"

"Because. I don't think I want an onix anymore, anyways." I sighed at his answer. I motioned for Hope to knock the onix out of the way, to which she complied happily. Inside the cave, Hope managed to improve a lot. She managed to learn Mud-slap and Sand tomb, but she still preferred Bite and Dig. Ambition, on the other hand, didn't improve as much, if at all. He was mostly avoiding the geodudes and machop , going for the onix and very few steelix that were in the deeper areas. After training for a single day, Cap and I decided to move on to Hearthome City.

"Are you _sure_ you're good to travel?" I asked Cap as I packed my bag at the Center. We were in my room, I packing while Cap sat on my bed without a care. While I packed, I tried to find the stone that was supposed to evolve Noble into a gallade. I _know_ I put it somewhere in my bag…

"I'm good. My pokemon are fine, though Black still hates you." I shrugged. I could live with that. Besides, it was better to have a pokemon hate you than to have your friend die. I took out three pokeballs, two which were Great balls and a Dusk ball, still searching for my Dawn Stone… "Y'know, I want to catch a ghost." Something blue caught my attention while I was rummaging in my bag, making me smile. Finally, I found my Dawn Stone.

"Found it," I said, taking said item and putting in the bed, right besides where Cap was sitting.

"Did you listen to what I just told you?"

"No, _Capricorn_, I didn't. Sorry." I lied, not feeling sorry in the least. I watched him turn red at his full name, making me smirk. Oh, how I love to tease him.

"D-Don't call me that! It's embarrassing!" I just shrugged him off, putting my belongings into my bag once again. I took out Noble's Heal ball and grabbed the Dawn Stone from the bed, holding one in each hand. Okay, now, how do I do this… "Are you listening to me, Ari?!" I glanced at him with narrowed eyes. His constant whining was starting to get on my nerves.

"I'm sorry. What do you want?" I saw him sigh miserably, obviously unhappy with my constant ignoring. I kind of felt sorry for him, but he was seriously starting to get on my nerves. Sure, it was nice to see him good and alive, but I think that lately he has been high on painkillers (which he had to take every day to keep the pain at bay) or something, because he was becoming more annoying than usual.

"Whatever…" he muttered with his blue eyes downcasted. I ignored this and asked,

"Hey, Cap, do you know how to evolve a pokemon with a stone?" To my surprise, Cap nodded. He was about to take the stone from me, but I stopped him. "Wait, later. I mean, not _here_. We can break something." And I don't have enough money to pay for any damage done to the room.

"Okay, then how about outside?" I nodded at his suggestion. With that, we exited the room, heading to the lobby to leave the keys and going outside to continue my plans on evolving Noble.

Once outside, we made sure to check that we had everything we needed to head towards Hearthome City. We had potions, pokeballs, and full heals.

I sighed in content as we walked up towards Route 207 and Mt. Coronet. Finally, we were leaving Oreburgh behind. We were moving on.

"Well, let's have Noble evolved then!" Cap said smiling cheerfully, apparently as happy as I was from leaving Oreburgh City behind. It was obvious he didn't like the city very much. And now that I think about it, this is where I last saw Rick almost a month ago. I smiled at Cap.

"Of course." I took out Noble from his Heal ball. He looked around, before settling his red eyes on me.

_"Where are we going Mistress?"_

"We're going to the next city. But right now, we're going to evolve you," I told him, noticing his eyes light up at the word 'evolve'. How cute. "Cap is going to use that Stone to make you evolve," I continued, pointing at Cap who had the Dawn Stone in his hands. I glanced back at Noble, looking at him directly in the eye. "Are you _sure_ you want to become a gallade? You _know_ there is no turning back, right?" Noble nodded.

_"I'm sure."_

"Okay then," I said, taking a step back and letting Cap do his deal. Cap nodded at me, nearing Noble, the movement making the stone in his hand shine. Cap touched the Dawn Stone to Noble's head, making both Noble and the Stone shine. Then, the stone disappeared in a bunch of small lights that united with Noble. Cap stepped back to my side with a smile on his face, as if pokemon evolution never bored him.

I focused back on Noble, who was still radiating light. His silhouette seemed to stretch, growing bigger and bigger until he was almost as tall as Cap. His limbs grew longer, sharper, and more humanoid than ever.

The light faded, leaving me staring at a humanoid psychic and fighting-type pokemon. The pokemon was of color white and green, with a hint of light blue and red. It had a green helmet-like thing on his head with a pale blue horn that ran from the very back of its head to the forehead, where the helmet ended. It also had sharp, blade arms that seemed deadly to the touch, strong legs to run and kick and a red appendage on its chest. Apart from that, it was pretty much obvious that it was taller than me. But only by an inch or two…Or five or six…

I don't know why, but I get the feeling that it will all be like this in the future…

Me being small and my team being big.

It was kind of obvious that Epic was going to be bigger than me, but by all means, he was a gyarados. Ambition, too, will be bigger and taller than me, since he would evolve into a tyranitar. Hope, I wasn't sure. But I think I heard Cap say that she will evolve into a dragon-type, so she would probably grow bigger than me. Dread was a dragon-type, so she was probably going to be bigger than me(she was almost as tall as me as she was, and she hasn't evolved into her last evolution). And Noble, well, I kind of hoped he would be too big…

My hopes let me down once again.

Anyways! I felt happy for Noble. He looked like a nice, manly and well-behaved pokemon. I smiled at him as he tested the blades in his arms.

"Nice looking, Noble," I told him. He just bowed to me with a small smile. Then, he headed to my side, staring down at me intently for a few seconds. Then he smiled, he seemed proud of himself for some reason.

_"Mistress, I'm bigger than you now."_ Even his voice changed, it sounded more…buttler-ly somehow. Wait…I glowered at him. _Did he just call me __**small**__?_ He seemed to hear my angry thought, because he shrank down under my glare.

"I _do not care_ that you're bigger than me, Noble. I can still kick your butt, okay?" He nodded at me hastily, making me smile sweetly. "Good." Cap laughed and Noble glared at him with sharp red eyes.

"Wow, Ari, your team is growing big. If they each start getting this big you're going to look like a caterpie in a dance of legendaries." I joined Noble in his glaring against Cap. Though, I was thinking whereas I should kick Cap or not, since he was injured and all…maybe I shouldn't… "I hadn't noticed until now, but now that I mention it…You _are_ pretty small, even for a girl!" I felt my eye twitch until I decided that, _yes, Cap deserves a little pain._ My leg shot forwards, catching his square on the shin, making him curse and massage at his now sore spot. I just glared at him, enjoying the small moment of justice before turning towards Noble.

"If you dare comment on my height again, that'll also happen to you," I warned him. If he dodged me, well, I'll just have to send Epic-or even Dread- on him.

_"Y-Yes, Mistress…"_

I huffed and turned, muttering 'So what if I'm small, that doenst stop me from being Epic…' under my breath and stomping in the direction to Mt. Coronet. Noble followed right after me. Cap stayed a few seconds to alleviate the pain in his leg, but then he followed after us chating about Noble and how now he could fight with fighting-type moves and all.

An hour later, we arrived at the entrance of Mt. Coronet.

We were finally ready to head towards Hearthome City.


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Going through Mt. Coronet was hell.

The place was dark. As in, the darkest place I've been to! It wasn't even funny when either of us tripped over something because we couldn't see anything! I couldn't even train Hope, fearing that my baby trapinch may get lost and never return! Oh, but the darkness wasn't the worst of my worries.

Cap was.

The black-haired male must've gotten sick sometime during our expedition through the cave. This had me thinking that maybe my companion loved bacteria as much as much as I loved my team.

And there was also this _little_ **_tiny_** problem to add to the equation (because my life could never be easy and simple)…

We were lost.

Mt. Coronet, besides being as dark as a mightyena, was a very confusing place. It didn't have any distinctive characteristics to help us around the place. Hell, even the rocks looked the same to me!

But finally, after three days(_three days!_) of walking around in circles, we saw some improvement.

The cave was starting to light up a little. And if that wasn't a signal of salvation, then I don't know what was.

"Ari…I think I'm gonna throw up again…" This was the fourth time of the day…I grimaced, trying to keep calm even in the situation we were in. I knew we were near the entrance(we _had_ to be), so teleporting Cap outside was definitely out of the question. And the amount of food provided by the cave was limited to either eat pokemon or eat rocks…

Thankfully, we had two very capable hunters in our group(Dread and Black, Cap's mightyena) that brought some unfortunate pokemon for the rest of the team to eat. Though, both pokemon grew tired easily after the second day(running around a cave hunting zubats could do that to a pokemon, it seems). Obviously, since there was no fire to light up a torch(Cap's ponyta had gotten knocked out since the moment we stepped into the cave), there was also no fire to light up a campfire(or in this case, cavefire). Anyways, we had some canned food to eat and some berries. But right now…

We had absolutely nothing.

We were just lucky that Cap had a water pokemon, his marshtomp Blue, that could keep us hydrated. Though, I was still sulky that my gyarados didn't know any water-type move…

"Try to hold it in, we're almost at the exit," I said softly, hoping that I was true and the exit was nearby. The mushy ground and the rocks were starting to get annoying at this point. I saw Capricorn stumble towards a nearby pile of rocks, where he threw up whatever his stomach had in it. I winced. Damn, maybe Cap _was_ seriously sick. Cap's marshtomp went to his side immediately, tilting its head t the side and looking at its master with worry. I, too, neared Cap to check if he was okay (which was kind of stupid, you could practically see the green on his face).

"Are you okay?" He just nodded, but I saw that he was paler than usual and that there was sweat forming on his face, despite the humidity of the place. I was _really_ starting to worry about him. I took out my great ball from my pocket, which contained my faithful gabite, and let my pokemon out. Dread looked around in curiosity, probably guessing that she had to hunt some pokemon for the team again.

"Dread, I need you to find the entrance. I know you're tired, but you're the only one that can do it." She was my perfect scout after all. She was fast, intelligent and ruthless. Plus, she had some kind of sixth sense to get around in the wilderness. She stared at me, then at Cap, and tilted her head questioningly.

_"Gab?"_

"Cap is hurt, I need to help him out." I saw Cap shake his head out of the corner of my eye, but I decided to ignore him for his own sake. Dread stared at me for a long moment before nearing my side, rubbing her head against my side, and leaving to follow my orders. I turned towards Cap once again, wondering just _how_ I was supposed to get him out of the cave. Wait…Hehe…Noble~

I took out my newly evolved gallade and grinned. Noble looked around the place with sharp intelligent eyes, before his gaze landed on Cap. He closed his eyes and sighed.

_"Why is it that Capricorn always ends up injured?" _I shrugged.

"How should I know? Weak immune system maybe?" I suggested, ignoring Cap's weak glare and comment of _"I can still hear you, Ari,"._ Noble just looked back at Cap and seemed to get my earlier idea.

_"…You want me to carry him…don't you, mistress?" _I grinned at him.

"Yup." He winced, giving me a pleading look. Oh, pride is hard to build and easy to crush Noble. You should know that. "C'mon, you're a fighter now. Fighters are strong! You should be able to lift him up without problems!"

_"It's not that I can't mistress…"_ It was a matter of pride. Noble would never agree to carry anyone around (except maybe for me). But since this was an order…

Noble sighed.

_"I understand, Mistress." _

"Good," I said, smiling at them. Noble bend down next to Cap, put Cap's uninjured arm around his shoulder and hoisted him up to a standing position. I frowned. "I thought you were going to _carry_ him?" As in, piggyback or bridal style! This didn't even count as carrying! It should be called _supporting_ instead! Noble looked at me in defense.

_"…He can still walk."_ And I sighed in irritation. Stupid _psychic pokemon with his stupid pride. _

I continued to walk aimlessly, not knowing where exactly I should go, as Dread had yet to come back. I looked back at Noble and Cap to see if they were still behind of me, and thankfully, they were. I sighed and continued walking, almost tripping over a rock and falling on my face in the process.

_"Gab! Gabbite!" _Her familiar call made me smile. I turned towards the sound of her cry and, lo and behold, there was my gabite! She looked kind of majestic, with all that light illuminating her form in the dark cave of-Wait! Light!

The exit! Finally! We've found it! Well, technically, Dread did, but _who cares_! We could finally leave!

"Good work, Dread!" I told her with a smile, returning her because she was probably very tired at this point. Then, to Cap, I said, "It's the exit! Cap, we're finally getting out of this hellhole!" I stared at his face, sweaty and too pale, and decided that Cap wasn't listening to me. Poor sickly boy… "Let's just hurry, Noble." I was afraid that something aggravated further Cap's condition. My pokemon nodded and we all exited Mt. Coronet.

Once outside, I had to cover my eyes from the sunlight. But even the sunlight couldn't stop the smile that was blooming in my face. _Outside world! You don't know how much I missed youuuuuuu! _

A few more minutes and we'll arrive at the biggest city in the Sinnoh region, the heart of contest, Hearthome City.

"Cap, how about you take your tropius out so it can carry you?" When he didn't move, I voiced my question again, only this time I neared his side and made sure he had listened. He nodded, searching in his pockets for the grass-type's pokeball. He grabbed a pokeball and I was surprised when the pokemon that came out was his tropius. I seriously didn't know how the other trainers could tell apart their pokeballs when they all were the same. I could only tell mine apart because they were all different! Now that I think about it…I will have to catch my next pokemon with a different pokeball too…Well, damn.

_"Pius."_ I turned my attention back towards the tropius, it was looking at Cap weirdly. I gave Noble a questioning glance, mentally asking him to translate.

_"He says that Capricorn is always getting sick,"_ Noble explained, moving closer to the grass-type pokemon to put its master on its back. After finishing his task, Noble came back to my side. I patted his shoulder(he was too tall for me to pat his head like I used to do…), adding a mental 'Good job' just for him to hear.

I turned back to the road, checking out the scenery. It was a path that consisted of, at least, three bridges. There was a house further ahead and then, the gates to Hearthome city. Short enough.

"Let's go," I said, walking towards the first bridge, watching it warily as it started to move the moment I stepped on it with Noble. I gave t a critical eye. It seemed pretty sturdy. Probably able to hold an onix if one were to pass. And, I wasn't unlucky enough to have a bridge falling under me. It was going to be fine. …Probably.

I started to walk hastily, wanting to cross as quickly as possible.

"Hey boy! I challenge you to a pokemon battle!" I watched as a blonde girl the age of Cap marched towards us, a frown on her pretty face. I groaned. _Perfect, just perfect. Maybe the bridge __**will **__fall under me now. _

I tried to ignore her, continuing on my way.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" I gave her a glare.

"And I heard you," I told her, annoyed. I just wanted to get off this bridge and take Cap to a hospital or the Pokemon Center. That seemed to annoy her too, though.

"Then why were you running away!?"

"I don't want a battle. I'm tired, sore, hungry, my friend is sick." _And this bridge is gonna fall anytime soon because my luck just took a sharp turn for the worst, thanks to you._ Of course, I couldn't tell her that, but I almost did. _Almost_. She gave me a smirk, spreading her hands out to block our way.

"Well, if you want to pass and save your friend, you'll have to battle me." I stared at her in shock. _What a selfish bitch! _

_"Mistress…that's rude."_

_'Noble, shut up.'_

"I accept." I told her, wanting to end this as quickly as I could to get Cap to the Center. I motioned for Noble to go. But to my surprise, the blonde girl threw two pokeballs in the air. _Double battle?_ I searched in my pockets for Dread's Great Ball, not having any other option(Epic was too big and Hope and Ambition were too inexperienced). I motioned for my gabite to join my gallade in battle. Dread nodded and posted herself besides Noble. I narrowed my eyes at her side of the battle field, watching her pokemon in fascination.

A flareon and an espeon. Two very rare pokemon.

"Noble, use psychic on the flareon! Keep it at bay! Dread, Dragon rage on the espeon!" Noble teleported away immediately while Dread started running quickly towards the purple pokemon, intent on giving it a strong dragon rage attack. The flareon tried to counter Noble's Psychic with a flamethrower, but Noble teleported away and hit the flareon with another Psychic attack from behind. Dread, though, was having a hard time reaching the espeon. Her own tiredness and the espeon's agility made it extremely hard for her to land a hit. I cursed gently, thinking of a strategy to turn the tides.

_"What if we switch targets, Mistress?"_ I heard Noble ask.

'Yeah, that may work…" I muttered to myself. The flareon was already pretty weak and Noble's agility could probably rival the espeon's. "Switch targets Dread! Use Take Down, Noble, use Magical Leaf to cover up for her!" While Noble used his Magical Leaf attack to keep the espeon distracted, Dread ran towards the flareon. It attacked with another flamethrower that hit Dread straight on the face, making her stop and cry out in pain. "Use Sand tomb, Dread!" Dread complied, whirling a sand tornado and throwing it at the surprised flareon. It yelped as the sand hit it in the face, getting into its eyes. Dread took that opportunity to keep on attacking, using her claws, which lighted up with a blue fire, to chop two times at the flareon.

That was…Dragon claw…? No, Dragon claw is too powerful…Maybe some other dragon-type move…

I turned my attention back to Noble, who was having a Psychic Battle and was losing badly. He was, after all, part fighting. Then, I noticed that the espeon wasn't teleporting, just dodging…

"Noble, hit and run!" He understood quickly, and soon he was attacking and teleporting all over the place, not giving the espeon a chance to counter as it focused mainly in dodging. I glanced at the girl, but she wasn't giving her pokemon any commands, she was just watching the fight intently. Focusing on my pokemon and her own.

"_Bite!" _I heard Dread cry in victory as the flareon finally fell. I looked back at where Noble was fighting the espeon, noticing how he was fending just fine. The battle was ours.

_"Mistress! May I have permission to use a new attack?"_ I blinked hard. Two new moves in only _one_ battle? My luck was returning! I nodded at my pokemon. My gallade extended his blade arm and it started to glow a bluish hue. The blade sharpened, and then Noble brought down it down with such a force that several bursts of psychic power came out, almost chopping the espeon in two if it weren't for the pokemon's amazing reflexes. Noble prepared another attack, but it wasn't necessary.

"I forfeit…" I looked at the blonde in surprise, but ordered for Noble to stop. She retrieved her two pokemon with a scowl. Then she turned towards me and glared. I glared right back.

"What? Going to let us pass through?" I asked, already moving forwards. When she was next to me, she gave me a CD-wait no, a TM. "What's this?" She rolled her eyes.

"A TM," she said in a _duh_ tone. I gave her a glare.

"Why did you give it to me?" I asked her, a little suspicious of the blonde girl in front of me. She was taller than me, probably stronger than me too.

"Listen, brat, I don't have money, okay! Just accept the TM and scram!" _Such a bad mouthed selfish bitch. _I gave her one last glare before stomping away from her.

_"Stupid bitch, didn't need to be so rude over something so stupid,_" I muttered under my breath.

_"Mistress, aren't you forgetting something?" _

I gave Noble a frown, giving his question some thinking before my eyes widened.

"Cap! Oh Arceus! I forgot about you!" I returned my pokemon, picked up Blue as he was pretty small, and started to sprint in the direction of Hearthome City, Cap's tropius galloping right behind me.

The blonde girl gave me a scoff. "Idiot."

I ignored her, praying that Cap didn't have anything too serious.


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter 22:

Luckily, Cap just had a stomach bug (not a _literal_ bug, that would be…weird). I was so relieved that I almost kissed the nurse. Of course, I was normal and refrained from doing so. But what kept getting into my mind was this: Cap got sick a lot. That meant that traveling will always end up with Cap at a hospital receiving treatment and whatnot.

Also, Dread learned Dual Chop, not Dragon Claw. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that it wasn't Dragon Claw, even if I already had my suspicions that it wasn't; it would've been way too good. Also, Noble's new move was called Psycho Cut. Pretty epic name, right?

Anyways, apart from our hasty visit to the hospital, Hearthome City was enormous and beautiful. Most of the buildings were houses and hotels, but there were also stores and other places of tourism that made Hearthome what it was. These places were The Church, a very famous bakery, the Poke-Park where you could play with your pokemon and other's people pokemon (mine weren't allowed because they were "Dangerous" and "not cute", Tch…), and, the Contest Hall.

And, of course, the Gym.

Which brings us to the present time…

"Come on Ari! It will be fun!" Cap (who somehow managed to get better in just two days of medication) kept whining and pleading, wanting to try out the gym for 'fun'. His injured arm, that was much better now(almost fully healed), didn't hold him back one bit; if only making him give me a reason to be _gentle(Really_, can you believe him?). Back to the matter at hand, Cap's idea was, with all sincerity, the most stupid one so far on our journey(and believe me, he can have _very_ stupid ideas).

Hearthome City Gym was, not only a _ghost_ type but also, _way_ out of our league! It was the fifth gym, if you challenged them in the right order, and Cap and I were one and two badged trainers (Cap may be stronger, but he still hadn't challenged any other gym leaders to get more badges).

"Cap, we're going to get crushed," I told him with all sincerity. I was feeling sincere today!

"C'mon! It's just for fun! Just to see! Please! Don't you even feel pity for the injured?" He said, giving baby-zigzagoon-eyes with those beautiful blue orbs of his. Damn…My resolve was crumbling under his charming eyes. Cap may be all big and hot and all, but right then and there, he looked like a baby pokemon asking for adoption. A _cute_ baby pokemon at that. Cap probably only acted this way to people he knew or were closest friends with. Now that I remember, he _did_ act very serious the first time we met back at Oreburgh's Pokemon Center... "Ari? You okay?" I blinked at his suddenly too big and too close face. I slapped his face away from mine with an annoyed huff, making him yelp in surprise(I didn't hit him too hard).

"Geez, Capricorn, you sacred me…" I watched in fascination as his face lit up with a blush at the mention of his full name.

"A-Anyways, are we going? Pleaaaaaase?" He looked so excited…I just couldn't say 'no'. So I sucked it up, like a good friend that I was, and nodded at him. He cheered while I just sighed. Whatever…It couldn't be _that_ bad, right?

Not even an hour later, we both got out asses handed back to us. We didn't even get beat one of the gym trainers!

At the moment at hand, I sat at the Center's cushions, waiting for my team to get healed up. Maybe I should've asked for a double battle instead…wait. Is that even allowed in a gym battle?

"Man, you should've seen your face when that gastly came out! You were horrified!" I glared at my friend as he laughed at me, remembering the stupid gym trainer that I battled against earlier. His gastly had crept me out, making me shriek loudly in the dark and solemn gym. Thankfully, there weren't a lot of people inside. And I don't even know _why_ I was scared of the damn ghosts. Maybe it's just a sign stating that I'm normal. Normal people are scared of ghosts right? "I didn't know you were scared of ghosts Ari!" Cap continued. I glared.

"I'm not." He ignored me.

"Now I finally know something about you! The mysterious Ariann Roman! Her weakness is…Ghost Pokemon!" he said the last two sentences with a deep voice, as if he were announcing that to some kind of audience. But I just scoffed at his efforts.

"Mysterious? Me? I'm the most normal person you ever met in your life," I told him, some of his words hitting me deep in my core as I asked, "And what do you mean 'Finally know me', anyways?" We've been traveling for weeks, of course we knew each other.

"Well," he tilted his head with a frown,"You're always secretive and mysterious and quiet. I fear if I stop talking to you, you might just disappear." He laughed bitterly, and I just stared. "You blend in the background, Ari. You're always serious too. I was starting to think you might be a hitwoman or an assassin. I seriously don't know how we're even friends!" Well, at least he didn't think I was a prostitute or a run away or something weird like that. It was true what he was saying, I already knew of some of his past and he knew some of my weaknesses. But he didn't know anything about my past or with whom I lived with or any other thing that may be on the must-know list regarding your friend. I should let him know of my life, right? It wasn't like he was going to use it against me… "Ari, you're spacing out a lot lately," Cap said looking at me with curious eyes. I sighed as I decided that yes, I should trust Cap with at least this much.

"Okay, listen up Cap. Let's have a sleepover at my room today," I told him, since it's better to talk at night instead of in plain daylight. It's not like I'm paranoid or anything, but people could eavesdrop. Plus, Sleepovers are fun, right?

"A sleepover?"

"Yeah, we can tell stories, play games, watch some movies, talk about ourselves…" Cap nodded, listening and considering my words intently, before he said,

"But aren't you uncomfortable around men? I tend to sleep talk a lot." I sighed.

"I trust you enough. And hey, we've been sleeping _on the routes_ together for _days_! It won't be that different, only this time I will have a bed, of course." It wasn't like Cap and I were going to get all…cuddly all of a sudden.

"Okay, then." Cap nodded, but then he frowned. "Wait, don't you mean _We_ will have a bed? As in, you in a bed and I in another?" I smirked.

"There is only one bed at my room. And sorry, it has already been claimed." He gaped.

"And where will _I_ sleep?!"

"That's an easy one: on the floor." At my remark, Cap deflated.

"So mean…"

We hung out around Hearthome City for a while. Since it was such a big city, we spend the whole day checking out the stores, hot spots, etcetera, while talking about ourselves. Apparently, Capricorn had two brothers, both named after constellations, though Cap didn't tell me their names. I told Cap about my mother's worry-ness over my grades and my father's over protectiveness. And about my brother, my beautiful, wonderful, and amazing brother. As we talked, we went to the pokemon fanclub (where I was told that my pokemon respected me, while Cap was told his pokemon loved him to death), we also went to the market, where I bought a phone(a very crappy phone, but it was the only thing I could afford). We spend some time training back in route 208, even if it was a very short amount of time(watching trainers get out of Mt. Coronet all dirty and tired was definitely not fun). We had a nice time. We even baked a few cakes with some of the others trainers! Too bad they tasted like crap, I had to give them all to Hope, she ate them without complain.

And then night arrived.

I was just getting out the shower when I heard the knock on my door. I sighed, putting on some sweatpants that I had bought sometime earlier that day (when exactly? I forgot) and a simple white shirt. I let my wet hair loose since it was only Cap and, well, I have to admit that I actually missed my blond hair a little. I frowned as an afterthought. It didn't matter. I will have to continue with my journey and my hair will be hidden from plain view again. I sighed and opened the door for Cap.

Immediately he stared at me, looking me up and down. I glared at him.

"You just look so _weird_ dressed like that," he said with a sheepish smile. I just sighed and rolled my eyes at him.

"Just get in already."

Cap settled in inside my small room. Noble already sat at my bed along with Hope(who was munching at my pillow, mind you), while Dread and Ambition were having a chat or something at the corner of the room. I couldn't keep the sigh that came out of me. I _told_ them to _stay on the bed_.

"Hey, didn't I tell you to stay on the bed?" I asked them, a little annoyed at them. Dread looked at me, and happily climbed on to bed whilst Ambition just glared at me. I sighed, it was fine if Ambition stayed on the floor, he wouldn't hurt Cap.

…right?

Anyways, what was Cap doing?

I forced myself not to laugh as I watched my friend settle his sleeping bag at the corner of the room, humming to himself as he soothed the wrinkles and palmed the dust off.

"Cap?" He stopped, looking back at me with a 'hm?'. I couldn't help it, I chuckled. "Just…what are you doing?"

"Well, you said that I _would_ sleep on the floor." I stared at him.

"I was joking." Capricorn stared at me, his face lighting up from pink to a very deep crimson red. I grinned. "There's a mattress under my bed, you just have to pull it out. "

"So mean…" I saw him pout, getting his sleeping bag into a corner of the room and going to my side to retrieve the mattress. "And here I was using my sleeping bag. I even washed it you know!"

"You mean you usually don't wash it when at the center?"

"…"

After Cap put his mattress on the floor(and got most o his pokemon out), we decided it was time to catch on with our lives. Or past lives, if you may.

"I used to take my brother's pokemon to battle when he came late. I think he never noticed." Cap laughed, remembering when he fled off with his brother's pokemon, no doubt. I smiled at his face, he looked just like a child…

"My brother is a lot like you, only less annoying and much more handsome," I said proudly, to which Cap scoffed.

"I bet I'm more handsome than him. And besides, pretty boys don't win pokemon battles, tough guys do." He countered while I glared at him, but I stayed shut. After all, I didn't know if my brother was a good pokemon trainer or not. But I bet he was. I mean, of course he was!

"Well, what about your pokemon? How did you get them?" Cap brightened and eagerly started to tell me his story.

"My starter was Black. I caught him on a whim, knowing he was strong and fully evolved already. At first, he didn't listen to any of my commands, but somehow I managed to win some fights with him. Then I caught Green, and Blue was gifted to me by my family." He smiled once again, and I had to resist the urge to ask him _'and why do you call them by colors?'_. I straightened and told my own story of how I met my pokemon.

"Epic was my starter," I started to talk. "He was literally dumped on me by a man that was running away from one thing or another. I have to admit, I was rather disappointed at the pokemon that was literally stuck with me. But no one else wanted him, so I decided to keep him as a pet." I still remember the face of the receptionist at the police station when I told her the pokemon was actually a magikarp. "Anyways, after some time I changed my mind and decided to train my pokemon. Let's just say we had it tough." I heard Cap let out a laugh, probably imagining the troubles I went through to get my pokemon stronger. "So, at the day of my birthday, I decided to tell my parents about becoming a trainer. At first they refused, but with a little coaxing from my part had them agreeing." I still remember their faces…Mom's incredulous one and Dad's furious one…It's _not_ that I _miss_ them, or something like that! Not at all! My eyes just sting because of the dust! Yep, that's it, just the dust.

I cleared my throat.

"A-Anyways," I continued, "a little after my parting I met a boy named Rick. He helped me get all the way to Oreburgh, where we had to part ways. He was a very nice traveling partner…" Remembering Rick always tends to get me a little sad. But I always cheer up when I think of the epic battle that we will have when we meet again.

That one battle that I _have_ to win.

"He can't be nicer than me, can he?" I heard Cap ask and I chuckled.

"He's definitely more intelligent than you are,"-"Hey!"-"but I guess…you're both nice, but in different ways." I really couldn't explain it. Cap was more of a protector, while Rick always seemed to know of everything. They both had their perks and their falls (like how Rick was afraid of the dark and bad at handling his own pokemon or how Cap was always sick), but they were both good people…

"…sorry…won't…" I heard Cap's mutter, but I wasn't able to comprehend him at all. I looked back at Noble, but to my surprise, all my pokemon were already asleep. I groaned.

"Can you repeat that?" I asked him. Cap flinched and ducked his head.

"…I'm sorry that I betrayed you, it won't happen again…" I blinked hard, and then deadpanned at him.

"…You're still on with that?" Cap groaned and hid his face behind his hands. It was kind of cute but annoying at the same time, 'cause I couldn't see his face. I scowled.

"I was just so scared and mad at myself…I thought you were going to leave me, even after all we've been through…" I actually hadn't thought about Cap's feelings back then when I had to drag him all the way over to Eterna. I was pretty much pissed off at him, not giving a damn about what happened since he had actually betrayed me and I would have to be alone again. I never thought this thing would really bother him that much… "I was always alone-hell, I can dare say that you're the first person in Sinnoh that actually talked normally to me without flirting! So when you decided to trust me enough to travel with me, I was really happy." He looked at me directly in the eyes, but I was still shocked, stunned by the revelation. Cap…was as socially awkward as I was, wasn't he? "I don't want you to remember me as your traveling partner…I…" He stopped, frowning. I hadn't noticed until now, but I always referred to Rick as my traveling partner. So Cap thought I was going to refer to him in the same way…? "Ari, I want you to remember me as your friend. And please know that I consider you my best friend. I'll have your back, no matter what happens."

I don't know what to say… I was totally rendered speechless. I mean, I never actually had a friend before (pokemon and classmates were out of the question here, of course), or someone who actually called me by that title. So, to have Cap suddenly say that I was his _best friend_…I was really happy. And in a certain way, I felt the same towards him. Cap wasn't Rick, Cap was Cap. My hot, beautiful eyed friend.

But of course, since I have one heck of a stupid pride, I can't say that and make a fool of myself in front of him(even if he considers me his best friend). But, somehow, I had to let him know that I felt the same way.

'_You better suck it up pride, what's coming is going to wound you greatly…'_

"You're also…" Damn, this was hard…Do I really have to say it out-loud? "You're also my best" (_and only_, I mentally added, because saying that would only add salt to the wound) "Friend." There, it was out. Ha! Get that, stupid pride! I said it! I smiled at my own accomplishment.

Cap brightened a lot at that, his beautiful blue eyes practically shinning with happiness.

"Thanks, Ariann. I'm glad you feel the same."

"You're welcome, Capricorn."

Shortly after that, we went to sleep.

A girl afraid of men, of being alone, of being _weak, _surrounded by a pile of pokemon that were prone to give her bruises as they shared a bed; sleeping next to her best friend, who would probably also wake up with some bruises in the morning due to his own sleep-bullies.

It was probably the most uncomfortable sleeping arrangement, but I felt complete, I felt good, I felt alive.

I felt happy, because tonight was the best night ever.

**AN: Start**

**Okay, im kind of sorry for updating this so late, but my graduation is nearing and preparations are needed and my teachers are pissing the living shit out of me with so much work! **

**Going back to the story, this chapter was a filler(you probably noticed), so i'm kind fo sorry for the super long wait. but! next chapter will be long and epic!**

**In the next chapters(i think 2 or 3 chapters later) the two friends will find a new pokemon! Which pokemon do you think it will be?I'll give cookies! *showing the burnt cookies***

**Well, hope you all like it and, well, i'll try to update soon...**

**I'll really try.**

**Yeah.**

**Erh, bye!**

**AN: End**


	24. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

_"Mistress, wake up."_

_…Shut up…Noble…._

_"But Mistress, it's almost noon…"_

I groaned, finally agreeing with my psychic/fighting-type pokemon in waking up (though I still glared at him). Said pokemon was already out of bed and cleaning any mess that was around the small room. I sighed, laying in bed a few more seconds, just a little more bliss…

_"Mistress…"_

"Argh, okay, okay. It's noon, time to wake up. I get it." I grumbled at him, sitting on my bed with a scowl.

I am _not_ a morning person. At least, not when someone wakes me up. If I wake up early, it has to be out of my own free will.

I looked around for Cap, surprised that he was still sleeping peacefully with his team. I felt envy for him. _Why does __**he**__ get to sleep more than I do?_

"_Mistress_."

"Okay, I'm up, see?" I stood up(prying away Dread's claws from my torso) and stretched my limbs. I yawned, then I stared at the wall, thinking of nothing in particular.

I heard Noble sigh, and I yawed again. He just worries too much.

_"That's because you worry too little, Mistress."_

I shrugged, walking towards my bag, taking a change of clothes and making my way towards the bathroom. I, at least, deserved one last shower before heading on to route 209, which then would lead us to Solaceon Town. Before entering the small bathroom, I turned and gave Noble one order:

"Don't let Cap go inside the bathroom until I'm finished."

And with that, I entered with a bundle of clothes in my arms.

* * *

><p>My shower didn't take long. When I went out (fully clothed, mind you), I met a certain black-haired <em>sleeping beauty<em>.

Which was technically true, Cap was both beautiful and (currently) sleeping. But that was besides the point.

The _real_ point is…Why is he still sleeping?!

I growled. If _I_ couldn't sleep, then neither could _he_. All of yesterday's friendly chat went to hell as I continued to watch him _sleep(__**Sleep**__!)_ with jealousy. Then an idea hit me, making me smirk.

I went back to the bathroom, filled a cup with water and headed towards Cap with stealth. Noble gave me a look, but I ignored him. It was okay, it was only payback right? I chuckled maliciously to myself, nearing Cap's side, cup raised over his head_, tilting oh so slightly_-

"_Marsh_?" I recoiled (almost soaking myself with the water by the sudden movement), looking down to find Cap's Marshtomp, Blue, glaring at me. I glared back.

"What?"

"_Marsh, Marshtomp, Marsh_!" I glowered at it, then backing down when I noticed there wasn't a point.

"It was just a friendly prank." I grumbled an excuse.

"_Marsh_!"

"C'mon, Blue! Help me scheme against your trainer!" That way, I could throw even _more_ water at him… Apparently, the water pokemon was very loyal, and it refused my offer. I tched, standing up and putting the cup filled with water on the floor. Maybe I should've asked Black, he was a dark-type after all…

"_Ghost-type are mischievous too, Mistress."_ I just sighed, glaring at Cap once again.

"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty, time is up." Cap stirred, mumbling something incoherent before opening his eyes slowly. The ponyta, Red, also woke up by the sound of my voice. Cap groaned, covering his eyes with his forearm, probably trying to block out the sunlight. Red gave a small whine and stood up, the flames of her mane lighting up considerably. She neared Cap, nudging his arm out of his face and rubbing her snout against his face. Cap chuckled hoarsely(he sounded weird…but sexy…) and patted her snout.

I smiled at the picture, all my jealousy dissipated for that one moment.

Unlike Rick's pokemon, who tended to get a _little_ violent when showing their affection, Cap's pokemon were very tender and sweet with him. Even the all mighty mightyena was loyal and soft on him.

I didn't notice I was staring until Cap cleared his throat. I blinked, meeting his smirking face.

"I can take off my clothes here and now. I don't mind much." He was just teasing, but I couldn't help the blush that rose to my head. I scoffed at him to hide my embarrassment.

"T-There's a bathroom, you know," I replied, still not meeting his gaze. He just chuckled, taking his bag towards the bathroom to change(or maybe even shower, who knows). I sighed and went to sit on the bed, watching as the movement woke up my baby(not a baby anymore though) trapinch.

"_Tra_…" I heard Hope mutter as she stirred. I shook my head in amusement. She was just too cute (when she wasn't trying to bite your hands off).

"Hope, wake up sleepy head." I called at her, Noble standing just besides me as I did so. Hope opened her eyes and gave me a dead pan face.

"Trapinch." Well, wont you look at that? My pokemon felt just as crappy as I did when woken up early! Interesting… There was a word for that… I can't remember which is it now though…

_"Learned Behavior?"_ Noble asked with a tilt of his head. Right, that was it. Learned behavior.

Pushing my thoughts to a corner of my mind, I turned towards my other two pokemon.

"Dread, Ambition, we're leaving." Dread was the first to wake up. Her eyes snapped open at the sound of her name, and she scanned the area quickly before relaxing a little. She gave a small yawn (that was between a high pitched cry and a growl) and stretched her limbs. She stood on the bed and neared my side, dropping her head on my lap and staring sleepily at the floor. I petted her absentmindedly and waited for Ambition to wake up. To my irritation, the Rock-type larvitar just gave me a long stare, shifted to another position (more like gave his _back_ to me!) and continued with his sleep. I growled at him and, out of spite, returned him to his Ultra Ball.

"_Gab_…" I snapped out of my thoughts and looked down to see Dread glaring at Black, the mightyena (who, apparently, had woken up). The dark pokemon just stared at her with a lazy expression, probably not caring about what my dragon-type pokemon could do to him.

"Dread, stop." My gabite looked at me, before returning her gaze towards Black, and then back to me. She growled softly, rubbing her head against my side(her painfully big horns were digging in my flesh…), and I continued to pet her. I sighed, taking my luxury and great ball out to return my two female pokemon.

"Come on, back to the pokeball…" And in a flash, they were gone. I minimized the pokeballs, pocketing them along with Ambition's and Epic's in my hoodie.

"_What about me, Mistress_?" I heard Noble ask as he sat next to me on the bed.

"You can stay out if you want. You know how to behave yourself…" I mumbled, mostly to myself. Noble _was_ better behaved than any of my other pokemon. Dread was too clingy and overprotective, Hope was a trouble magnet(I always had to keep an eye out for her), Ambition was indifferent and most of the time he didn't listen to me(though in battles he followed my orders), and Epic was competitive and overprotective bordering on the line of possessiveness(even if he was docile most of the times).

Noble, compared to them, was just…human.

"_That flatters me, Mistress_." I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, watching a small smile grow on his face. I shrugged and waited for Cap to finish with his bath(or whatever the hell he was doing).

Once he got out(all dressed up and with his hair dribbling with water…*drools*), he started to clean up his mess and return his pokemon. I decided that I should clean my area too, so I tided up my bed and returned Cap's mattress to its rightful place: under the bed.

It wasn't long before Cap and I returned the Room's keys and left the pokemon center. After that, we started to walk towards Hearthome City's east gate(the one that would lead us to route 109) at our own pace. Cap just kind of pointed out cool things or things that he found interesting("Look at that pokemon! It's shiny-a wait, that's a plushy." "Damn, I think it I need some new boots…" "Look at that woman Ari, she looks weird, right? Like an evil spirit or something!") while I just nodded at him, not really in the mood to talk at the moment. Hey, I was grumpy from being woken up!

"Really, you should seriously take this egg!" A man near the gate yelled at everyone that came too close to him. AKA, us. I glared at him, deciding that, no, I didn't need another pokemon right now. Because: one, I had to evolve Ambition and Hope; two, five were good enough to stress me out, six would certainly kill me at the moment; and three: the pokemon was probably as shitty as a bidoof(no offense to those trainers that have bidoofs!). So, thanks but no thanks.

So, in response to my (very reasonable if you ask me) thinking, I glared at the man. _Back off_. The old man, seeing my glare(or was it my dark aura?) just kind of left me alone and went to bother Cap instead.

"Sorry sir. We really aren't interested in any pokemon eggs," Cap told the man sheepishly.

"Oh! But you never know what might emerge from it! Don't you want to try your luck, young man?" Cap laughed nervously and scratched his head.

"Eh, not really."

"You really, _really_, should try it out!" Seriously, this man was starting to piss me off.

"W-We _really_ should get going though…" Cap said as a lame excuse, his eyes twitching in annoyance. Heh, so even he was angered at the man…

"Oh, it's only take a few-"

"He said no. Give up alredy, we're in a hurry." I interrupted him, giving him another glare(and telling Noble to give the man a glare too) and leaving him without a word. Cap hurried after me, giving the man a quick apology, and fell into a steady walk at my side. Cap gave me a look that reminded me of Noble.

"Ari, that was rude." I rolled my eyes.

"C'mon, you're starting to sound like Noble…" I muttered, earning a raised eyebrow from him. "Besides," I continued, "It's not like you weren't going to do the same thing." Cap sighed in defeat.

"Yes, but do it delicately. You never know if you're hurting omeone's feelings." I just shrugged and turned to watch the scenary(I've never been to this part of the city)-just to meet Noble's disapproving face.

'_What_?' I thought to him with a small scowl. I already what was coming, wait for it, wait for it…

"_That was rude mistress_." And there it was! Noble's special phrase! Noble gave me a glare. _"Do not mock me Mistress. I know you feel a little annoyed today, but please do not take it out on other people."_

I just stared at him. Really, who did Noble take after? Certainly not me, I wasn't as Noble as he was. Maybe his family or something…

_"Mistress, that is beside the point…_"I heard Noble sigh. I just rolled my eyes.

_'Okay, okay, I won't snap at anyone. Calm down, won't you?' _

We passed the gate, and immediately I saw some blue not that far off my line of vision. Since it didn't smell( the ocean always smells weird), it must be some lake or river. Plus, we were practically at the center of Sinnoh, there's no way the sea is going to reach this spot. Apart from the rivers, we saw the normal Trainer path, along with a bunch of trees and bushes and such. It really wasn't fairly different from the other routes I've been to, since this one had more water at my disposition. This meant I could use my gyarados' power to its max capability.

But of course, there were also the trainers that were either camping or just having looking for trouble.

"You take left and I take right?" I heard Cap ask, regarding the trainers. I just nodded at him, looking forwards to it.

We separated, I went left and Cap right, as according to our plans. I walked up to the first guy I saw. He was taller than me_("Mistress, everyone is taller than you." *Twitch*_), and regarded me with lazy eyes as he played with the pokeball in his hand, rolling it over his palm again, and again and again. I told him about my challenge and he looked me up and down. I cringed as he smirked.

"You're just a baby beginner. C'mon, I want a real challenge!" I quietly fumed at the implication. He just called me _weak_! I can't believe this was happening again! Again, people were judging me for my appearance! People were underestimating me again! And it really, _really,_ pissed me off! I growled softly under my breath, giving the teen a glare. He just ignored me, the bastard! "Now _that_ one," he continued, pointing at Cap, who was currently fighting with Red against a Monferno and was actually winning, "That is a real challenge." I gave guy a glare and declared,

"If you want to fight Cap, you'll have to pass through me first!" He seemed to think about it for a second before shrugging.

"A warm up will do me some good." I had to restrain myself from hitting him(either in the face or where the sun doesn't shine). This was like Jack all over again!

_"Mistress, try to clear you head a little. You tend to make wrong choices when not thinking straight. You do not want to lose against him, right?"_ I saw Noble out of the corner of my eyes, and was surprised to see that he too was glaring daggers at the teen in front of us. Noble gave me a small smile. _"I believe in you, Mistress."_ I just stared at him, awed. Saying all those things to cheer me up…Noble, you're…amazing…

"You're right." I said instead. I stood straight, giving the man another glare. There was _no way in hell_ I was going to lose against a cocky bastard like this one.

"Two-on-two?" he asked, still rolling his pokeball on his palm. I nodded. I took out my ultra ball, while he readied his own pokeball. We threw them at the same time, making both pokemon emerge from a beam of light. I looked at the trainer's pokemon and felt a pang of nostalgia.

It was a staravia that reminded me of Rick's Star.

I heard the opponent groan at my larvitar and felt a little more confident. I could win this. I had the type advantage.

"Ambition, use Rock Slide!" My larvitar complied, using some rocks to throw them at the Staravia, who dodged the attack. I silently cursed. I may have the type advantage, but he had the speed.

"Arial Ace!" As the Staravia build up speed, I ordered,

"Step backwards while using Rock Slide!" The Staravia came flying at amazing speed towards my pokemon, it hit Ambition and avoided the rain of rocks easily.

"That was so close! Good job!" At least he was a good trainer, that I had to admit. He assessed me with a concentrated look. "Let's stick to long-range attacks, that Rock Slide of his is dangerous…" I hear him say. Kind of foolish if you ask me, but to each their own right? "Use gust!" I smirked and made my command.

"Cover yourself with Sandstorm!" My larvitar made a sandstorm seemingly out of nowhere, covering himself and the area nearby with pieces of sand and rocks. I had to squint, covering my eyes to avoid getting any sand into them. I heard the opponent curse at us and smirked in delight. The Staravia was just looking around in confusion, not knowing where to direct the attack. "Now, Rock Slide!" Rocks came falling down on the confused Staravia. They knocked it off the sky, but it tried to get up again. It didn't really matter. If they couldn't see Ambition, then they won't be able to attack. They will surely lose. My victory was secure.

Except it wasn't.

"Use whirlwind to make the sand go away!" And just like that, a powerful wind came and made the sand go away. Our cover was gone. I glared at him, but I had to admit, that was a good move. He smirked at me.

"There's more from where that came from, kiddo." I raised a brow.

"Oh? I thought I was a baby?" It was clear that I had, somehow, leveled up from baby to kid. I was gaining some respect from this man. But not completely, only slightly.

"I'll call you by your name if you beat me!" Sure you would. You would remember me, for centuries.***

"Ambition, use Rock Slide!"

"That's growing old! Use Arial Ace!"As the bird flew to gain momentum, I saw a perfect opportunity. I waited for it to get near, and shouted,

"Use trash!" Ambition never used this move. At least, not a lot. I think he kind of disliked it. But if he wanted to win, then he'll have to use it. The two pokemon clashed against each other with great force, delivering blows of their own and taking great damage as a result. It was only a matter of resistance, but I already guessed who was going to win…

The Staravia fell to the ground, both the super-effective Rock Slide and the Trash taking a toll on the poor bird's body. I smiled widely as the opponent sighed and returned his pokemon. I hear him mutter a 'good job', but didn't pay much attention to him. I gave my own pokemon a small smile.

"God job, Ambition. You fought amazing-" Before I could even finish my sentence, a bright light started to come from Ambition's body, blinding me. I didn't get what was happening for a second before I froze. Ambition was evolving. As in, _evolving_ evolving!

His from changed, growing bigger and with a different shape. When the light faded I was left staring at a blue shell-like pokemon. It had the same boring face(yup, that's definitely Ambition), but it was somehow different, more mature and relaxed. And he was floating(_floating_!) I swear, I was very, very happy! Partly for him and partly because now I only needed to evolve my trapinch.

"Ambition! You evolved!" He just deadpanned at me, muttering a 'pupitar' in a duh tone. I didn't notice. I was just too happy!

"It's good that you pokemon evolved and all, but that won't save you." I glanced at the trainer, who was giving me a determined look. He took out a great ball and let a purugly out. It was hissing at us, looking as angry as I felt minutes before. I frowned.

I was planning on sending Hope, but this guy was dead serious on our fight. I couldn't send her out(I had faith in her, but she will surely lose).

_"Mistress, I'll fight."_ I glanced at Noble, who was eyeing the other two critically. I frowned, but nodded.

"Sure, go."

Noble stepped forwards, and the guy paled.

"W-Wait, that's your pokemon too?!" I scoffed.

"Of course, from whom you thought it was?" He flinched and looked to the side.

"I thought it was that guy's, you know, to protect you and all. You kind of look like brothers so I thought…" I smirked.

"Well, too bad. You ready to practice my name? I don't plan to lose." The guy gave me a glare and his purugly hissed.

"Heh, that means nothing. I'll just have to pull through."

And we started our second battle. What I kind of forgot was that Noble didn't have any fighting-type moves, pretty much like Epic, who didn't have water-type moves either. So the battle was a little difficult without that advantage, but we managed to win.

The guy had scowled at me, taking his phone out and asking for my name. I told him 'Ari' and to my utter surprise, he snapped a picture of me.

"W-what are you doing?!" He just rolled his eyes.

"Hey, I have to relate your name to a face. Plus, I won't ever forget that gallade of yours. It is in the picture too." He attended his phone for a few more seconds, putting my phone number and all, before looking back at me. He extended his hand. "Good battle," he said good naturedly. I stared at his hand but didn't take it and nodded.

"Yes, the same for you." He 'tch'ed at me, probably because he thought I wasn't giving my hand due to arrogance. I sighed. "Tell me your name too. Don't wanna get scared when a stranger calls without me knowing who it is." He gave me a dumbfolded look before bursting out laughing.

"Y-Yeah, that's true…" he said as he wiped a tear from his eyes. He said his name was John (_"What a plain name…" _I had commented), so I put noted his number and took a picture of him. After that, we parted ways.

I didn't know if I was going to see him ever again, but I felt like I had accomplished something.

It was later that day that I decided to tell something very important to Cap…

"I'm hungry." It was understandable. After all, we hadn't eaten anything for breakfast(or lunch, for that matter), so I was starving.

Cap stopped and hummed, thinking about it.

"Well, I suppose Dread and Black can catch us a decent meal," I heard him say, though I didn't know if it was for me to hear or just for himself. He nodded, taking out Black's poke ball and taking him out. The mightyena sniffed the area, looking for threats or anything out of the ordinary. I took my own great ball, taking out my gabite so she could help the other pokemon hunt. She stretched, then she gave me a 'gabite!' of acknowledgment. "Black, Dread, we need you to find us some food. Don't wander too far, and _don't_ kill pokemon that have trainers," Cap told the pokemon sternly, like a father scolding his children, telling them what they could do and what they couldn't. I decided to copy him, doing the mother-figure part.

"And sweeties, don't bring any extravagant pokemon!" I think I may had overdone it(maybe the tone and the sweetness in my voice?), because Dread looked at me weirdly and Black howled with what I supposed was laughter. I glared at them. "I'm serious, just hunt normal _abundant_ pokemon." Black just ignored me(he probably wouldn't take orders from another person that wasn't Cap) while Dread nodded at me, probably not understanding a word of what I just said. I sighed as they took off, running through the woods with amazing speed. I couldn't help but worry a little for her.

"Cap, I'm going to take some berries. Wanna come?" I asked him while Noble walked to my side, obviously to accompany me. Not that I complained, of course. I enjoyed Noble's company. Cap shook his head while cleaning the space around, taking rocks and roots out of the way.

"Nah, I'm preparing the camp and the fire with Red. You go on, but be careful," he told me, looking at me directly in the eye in the last part. I sighed and rolled my eyes. If Noble was with me I would be okay. Plus, the last thing I needed was another over-protective person in my life.

"I'll bring you some then." I waved at him, going to a random direction where I could find some delicious berries.

I didn't expect what awaited me, of course.

The thing that will hunt me for live…

Literally.

* * *

><p><strong>An:<strong>

*****Those who got this sentence, yes! I listen to FOB! I just coudnt help putting this here. For those who don't get it, search the song(and the band). They're awesome.**

**Eherm, continuing! **

**That last bit! Cliff! Yay! **

**Anyways, ignoring that cliff, John wasn't really important, so don't get attached to him and forget him. **

**Also, in the next chapter, A new pokemon appears! What pokemon could it be? Will it be Ariann's last pokemon? **

**…Well, you'll just have to wait and see**

**An; end.**


	25. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

As I searched the place(avoiding pokemon on my way) for berries, I heard a distant ominous sound. It was like a wail, but it was soft and weak, creepily riding the wind that blew past me. and, obviously, it scared the hell out of me.

For the first three of four times I decided to ignore it. After all, I finally managed to find some tree with some very good, non-poisonous berries. When I noticed the sound wasn't stopping, I started to get creep out.

So, as a safety measure, I turned towards Noble and asked him.

"What the heck is that sound?" I finally asked him. He tilted his head, listening intently to the sound, and then shook his head.

_"I do not know Mistress. Maybe we should check it out?" _I instantly shook my head. No way, I may look brave and courageous on the outside, but deep inside I was still a little girl that was afraid of a lot of things. And if that thing was a _ghost_…Arceus, help me. I would prefer to go back to the Survival incident (though I was probably joking…I think…) instead of facing a ghost or anything related to the unknown. Noble frowned at me, and continued to look around. _"Well, I can tell it is a pokemon…"_

"Really?!" I brightened up at the idea. Probably it _was_ a pokemon! Maybe it was just injured, or even scared! What if it was the addition I needed for my epic team?

_"Most probable…if we check it out, we can make sure of it."_ Noble told me with a disinterested shrug. But he couldn't fool me. He _wanted_ to check it out, it was so obvious because he kept asking to go. I scowled. Maybe it wasn't a pokemon and he was just trying to use me. _"Mistress, I assure you that is not the case."_

"Okay, whatever, let's go." I finally decided. It couldn't be _that_ bad right? Plus, I had one of my strongest pokemon out (Noble and Epic were on par in terms of power, even if Epic was a little stronger due to his brute strength), what could go wrong? Even so, I told Noble, "Don't let any pokemon touch me, okay?" He just rolled his eyes and started to walk in the direction of the sound. I hesitated but followed closely after him.

_"Nothing bad will happen, Mistress."_ He said.

"Yeah, sure." I muttered with a small scowl.

We walked further away from the camp, meeting even less and less trees. We were starting to get to a clearing sort of area, but that wasn't a problem. What was really bothering me right now were the wails. The ominous wails were getting louder and louder, and thus scarier (at least for me). We got so close that the wail was no longer a wail, but a high-pitched screech that made the hairs in the back of my head stand up. It was annoying, scary and made me feel so damn vulnerable.

As we got to the center of the clearing, the sound quieted down considerably, becoming a distant almost inexistent whisper. It sounded almost like a plea. I looked around, until I found something that looked somewhat out of place.

A creepy looking pile of rocks, at the end of the clearing.

I neared the rocks carefully, noticing that we were near the chore of a river, immediately finding something out of place.

A weird looking rock was on the floor. The first thing I noticed about it was the weird pattern it had. A creepy smiley face, with a small crack on the top. I picked up the rock warily, intending on throwing it to the river, but stopped. Why did I stop you may ask? Well…

THE SOUND ALSO STOPPED!

I looked at the rock with horror. It was _smiling_ at me! _Smiling creepily_! It obviously said: Ha! I cursed you! Now you shall live with bad luck forever and disaster shall follow you!

_"Mistress, you are overreacting…"_ I jumped at Noble's voice. He was actually behind me, looking over my shoulder (I _wasn't_ small….) to get a better look at the rock. Yeah, that's what _he_ says! He isn't the cursed one! Noble sighed in exasperation. _"If are so scared of it, leave the rock here. We can go back to the camp and check tomorrow."_

"I'm not scared." I muttered, but I put the rock back in the pile of rocks (if I threw it to the river the curse would only get worse). I turned and started to leave. Maybe the pokemon fled or something. Or it wasn't a pokemon at all, just a trainer pranking newbies. As I walked away, I felt a shiver go down my spine. I shivered. _What the hell?_

A giggle sounded nearby, making me freeze on the spot. I turned hesitantly and immediately regretted it.

_Mother of—_

I let out a scream as I scrambled as _far away as __**fucking**__ possible from the purple ghost. _I don't what(it was probably a log or a small rock) but something made me stumble and fall on my butt, but I continued to scramble backwards. Noble was by my side in an instant, asking what was wrong in worry. But I couldn't form any coherent words at the moment. The only thing running in my head at the moment was: GHOST. ALERT. ESCAPE. DANGER. GHOST. FUCKING GHOST! FUCKING ESCAPE! FUCKING CURSE! FUCK EVERYTHING!

_"Mistress, you are not making any sense! Try calming down a little!"_ I pointed my finger (it was shaking madly, by the way) at the…the _thing_! Noble looked at the purple thing and then back at me._"Mistress, that is a pokemon." _Noble told me, practically questioning _why_ I was so distressed by _the_ _thing's_ presence.

"I-It's a-a-a gh-ghost…" I managed to say out of stubbornness. All the while I was trying to make my body get up and bloody run and scream but it wasn't working. _Traitor body. _Noble looked at me with a deadpan face and said,

_"Mistress…that is a pokemon."_

"D-D-Don't k-ki-kid with me-me Noble! I k-know a gh-gh-ghost when I s-see one—" just as I was about to finish my sentence, the purple ghost shadow sneaked in front of me. I noticed two things. One: it _was_ a pokemon. And Two: I was about to die of a heart attack.

I shrieked loudly, clinging up to Noble and telling him, no _demanding_ him, to teleport me _the fuck away from that thing!_

After I was teleported a few feet away, I heard the purple thing crackle with a laugh that creep me out. I shakily stood up and decided to make a stand.

"Noble, get rid of that thing!" I practically shrieked as my psychic pokemon looked at me with a sigh. Noble turned back towards the ghost and used a confusion to move it away from us. The. Pokemon. Didn't. Budge. I watched in horror as Noble used a stronger Psycho Cut attack, but that also had not effect! Then it dawned on me…This pokemon was probably part dark-type…If so, I was screwed.

_"Toooooooomb~"_ It sang mockingly. I was about to take out my pokeball(…hehe…Epic will **_eat_** that thing….hehe…) when a blue blur smashed against the purple ghost, making it shriek in pain.

"Ari! Damn, are you okay?!" Cap was not far behind in Dread's assault, making his entrance near me. he gave me a worried look. "I heard your scream and thought the worst! Wait, isn't that a pokemon?" I quickly hid behind him and nodded.

"That! That thing was trying to _eat_ me!" I shouted as I continued to hide behind him. Dread retreated to my side, growling protectively with residues of blue flames dancing near her mouth. I appreciated the much needed protection. Noble, also, neared me, though he was far less guarded. I looked at the purple ghost and found it…weeping?! Are you kidding me?!

"_That_ pokemon? are you sure? It looks innocent to me. Plus, it looks cool." Cap replied with a shrug, moving closer to the ghost pokemon with Red, his ponyta, hot on his heels. My blue eyed companion smiled at the thing reassuringly, extending his hand towards it welcomingly. It stopped weeping, focusing on Cap for a moment. I don't know why, but I felt _very_ betrayed by Cap.

"Look, he isn't even attacking. He's a good boy…" To confirm Cap's statement, the ghost moved towards him, touching Cap's hand with its purple aura thingy. Cap pulled the hand away abruptly, looking at the thing shocked, before laughing. "Wow! And he tickles! That's so cool!" I glared at Cap, hating for the fact that he has just sided with a _ghost_ instead of siding with _me_!

"Aren't you supposed to be my friend?" I asked pathetically, looking as Cap petted the (now) happy ghost type pokemon. After a few seconds, Cap stood up, grinning with a ultra ball in hand. I froze. "You aren't gonna catch it, right? C-Cause, he-he is a gh-ghost and all…" He looked at me, seemingly noticing my stuttering (who wouldn't?) and smirked at me. I already knew the answer to his question, so I settled for giving him a pleading look. _Ariann uses Baby-doll eyes on Capricorn!_ "Cap, come _on_. Don't catch it." I told him, hoping that maybe, just maybe, I had picked a _super awesome considerate __**friend **_to travel with me…

…Turns out I didn't…

An hour later, back in camp, I found myself sitting on a log, glaring at Cap with all the hate I could muster while he smiled at me in return. I had Dread, Hope, Noble and Ambition out to guard me from the purple ghost-type pokemon that was sitting next to Cap happily. This reminded me that I _really_ needed to work with my gyarados. But that was for later. At the moment, I just focused on being angry.

Cap, on the other hand was actually beaming with happiness. And I couldn't blame him, he just caught a good pokemon(and named it, guess what? Purple. Yup. _Purple_.). _But_, that didn't mean that _I_ was happy with his choice! Couldn't he choose another pokemon!? A Rock-type? Another Water-type? Did it have to be a Ghost-type?!

"Come on, Ari! Purple isn't that bad!" I groaned. No, it wasn't that bad living with a ghost from now on. _No_, it wasn't that bad _not sleeping_ thinking of what that ghost might do to you at night. _No, it wasn't that bad living in panic for the rest of your life!_

"Purple…I hate that color…" I muttered with a disgusted face. I really didn't hate the color, but _now_… I was starting to despise it.

"Purple is going to be part of my team, Ari. You'll just have to get along with him." I glared at the ghost one last time before deciding it was not worth it. I leaned back into my backpack and snuggled into my sleeping back and trying to get some sleep.

I gave the ghost pokemon one last glare(it was really getting on my nerves, even though it wasn't doing anything) before sighing and closing my eyes. My pokemon immediately surrounded me, making me feel safe all of a sudden.

That's right. I always had my pokemon with me. So that meant I was going to have some support no matter what happened. I was never going to be alone.

Plus, I had Cap. He wouldn't let Purple hurt me or anything. I should trust him more…if it's him, then I guess…I guess having a ghost pokemon near me wouldn't be that bad…

…Probably.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong>

**Soooooooo, Cap gets an epic spiritomb(which Ariann fears) lol. Poor Ariann. I've been saying this for a while, that one of them was going to get a pokemon. so here it is, a spiritomb(who is ghost and dark type).**

**Also, in the next chapter we will finally see Epic again! He's getting so few action it hurts lol**

**There will also be a new important character in the next chapter, so stay tunned. **

**Hope you all liked it! **

**An: ends**


	26. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

"I'm serious Cap, that thing used Dream Eater on me. I couldn't sleep all night!" My blue eyed companion just deadpanned at me from his place, cleaning the camping area.

"You get nightmares often, Ari," he said without much interest. I growled at him.

"But this one was different! It was the ghost! Seriously!" I really couldn't believe him. He was obviously trusting a pokemon, a _wild_ pokemon(a _ghost_, to top it all), over me, his companion, his _friend_. I have to admit that I felt betrayed, even if it _was_ his new pokemon(but he still should trust my judgment!). But I also was angry; partly because I couldn't sleep a wink, and partly because Cap was mistrusting me. Because, the ghost had, after all, used Dream Eater on me!

Imagine something like this: You, sleeping peacefully , dreaming of angels and butterflies and pretty little things. And then, suddenly, all turns dark, and a twisted face of a demon appears _just in front of you own face. _And as you hurriedly wake up, you find That stupid ghost grinning at you with glee, chuckling all the while, as it takes cover in your best (hot) friend's embrace.

…It feels bad, doesn't it?

…You feel betrayed, don't you?!

Eherm, well…that's _exactly_ what I am feeling right now!

I swear, I barely slept.

"Cap, I'm only asking that you keep it in its pokeball when its night time." I tried to reason with him once again, while retrieving my trapinch and pupitar since it was raining lightly. My two pokemon didn't like that much the rain, but that was probably due to their type disadvantage. But Dread, who was a Dragon and Ground type pokemon, seemed okay with it, so I left her out to roam for a while.

Cap sighed at my words, silently retrieving his ponyta to its pokeball. He stood up, giving me a lot.

"Ari, you know I respect you, but this is too much. Are you sure you're not being paranoid?" I was practically seething at this point. Paranoid? Just because you don't believe me I'm paranoid?!

"You know what? If that thing ever dares to intrude in my dreams again, I will hunt it down." I was being stupid, but I couldn't help it. Cap knew I was scared of ghosts, so what was his deal? And I wouldn't have minded much if he had a ghost pokemon, but then his stupid pokemon had to mess up with me! I only let Noble do that, and because I trust him enough.

Cap narrowed his eyes at me, frowning at my words. He stood straighter. He looked so dangerous suddenly, but I couldn't back down. My stupid pride wouldn't let me. So I glared up at him, challenging him.

"You'll have to pass through me though," he said lowly. I glared, already protecting that thing, huh?

"I'll do it if I have to," I countered coldly, letting my anger speak for me instead of thinking my words. I don't think I could hurt my friend if I wanted to, but he didn't know that. And he didn't need to know it either. Cap stared at me before chuckling, obviously trying to lessen the heavy mood that was suddenly surrounding us. I remained silent.

"Let's just continue. We're about a day or two away from Solaceon Town." I took a deep breath, trying to calm down a little, before nodding. Yeah, we'll just solve this later. It was too early to fight anyways.

So, with our confrontation left at that, we started to move again. It was a quiet walk, except for the silent falling drops of rain. I kept an eye out for Dread, in case she strayed too far, but she was always near. Growing bored in a matter of minutes, I unconsciously started to play with a loose blonde strand of my hair, later noticing that it was quite a time since I did that.

_"What a weird way to fight for dominance, Mistress."_ Noble commented, surprising me. I blinked.

"A what?"

_"A fight for dominance. Leadership. whatever it is you humans call it. It was weird."_ I stared hard at him.

"We…we weren't fighting for dominance, Noble." Noble tilted his head.

_"You weren't? It looked that way."_ I sighed, letting the matter slide as I stepped over a fallen branch. As I continued walking, I noticed once more the small river by our side, which immediately reminded me of Epic. I searched in my pockets for my pokeball, and took out my atrocious pokemon.

In a white flash and a huge splash, my gyarados was out. I waited a few seconds for him to grow familiar with his surroundings before nearing his side.

"Hello Epic, long time no see," I told him softly. Epic stared at me for a few seconds before huffing. I scowled at him. "Come on, don't be like that. It's not my fault you grew too big to take out often!" Epic titled his head for a few seconds before leaning down. And for a second there, I thought he was going to eat me. I mean, come on! Stand in front of a pokemon that's as big as your house and that could probably swallow you in a sole bite, and don't be afraid. Anyways, back to the matter at hand, Epic neared me and rubbed his head against me softly. I smiled and petted his head. "Yeah, I missed you too." Epic straightened himself, looking around once again.

Dread chose that moment to come around, greeting Epic with a happy "Gabite!". Epic shot her a glare and a snarl. Dread didn't seem to mind though. She just kind of…snarled back? It totally failed, by the way. Epic just rolled his eyes, growling softly before scanning the area once again.

I noticed how his eyes strayed towards the small river and grinned. "You can enter. As long as you don't stray too far and come to me when I call you." My gyarados gave me a look, growling softly before jumping in, swimming for the first time in ages.

I sighed in content before a thought hit me like a bullet train.

_Great, now I have to keep an eye on three pokemon. _Well, _four_ if I count the stupid ghost.

_"Mistress, the Spiritomb is not doing anything bad at the moment. It is not even present_." I heard Noble say, defending the stupid ghost too.

"What a traitor…" I muttered angrily, but he heard me. Noble's red eyes narrowed as he seemingly scowled at me.

_"You know that is not true. I would personally jump at Arceus rage to protect you Mistress."_ I flinched, knowing that somehow I had offended him.

"I'm sorry Noble." I apologized while feeling a little disgusted at myself. Why was I doubting my own pokemon? Cap was definitely a better pokemon trainer, never doubting his pokemon even when what I was saying was the truth…

_"Do not worry so much, Mistress. You are just feeling scared and threatened. Humans tend to do rash things when they feel like that. I forgive you,"_ Noble said as he neared my side and patted my head. Just like I do to my pokemon when they do something good. I felt a little embarrassed, but let the gallade do what he wanted. Noble didn't show his affection that easily, after all. He was shy that way.

After a while, we decided to continue. I went back to walking, following Cap but not actually nearing him. I kept a close eye to his Spiritomb, my gallade, my gabite (that was running around chasing any poor pokemon that she found) and my gyarados, that seemed to be enjoying the rain and the day in general. We remained in silence before Cap suddenly stopped. I frowned at him, and stopped too. He turned around and gave me a troubled face.

"Look," he said, seemingly having troubles with what he wanted to say next. When he took too much time, I replied.

"I'm looking." He gave me a scoff, but his face relaxed a little.

"Really funny…" he muttered before he stayed in silence once more. Dread noticed that we stopped walking and went to my side, rubbing her head against my leg to get me moving. I shushed her, which made her grumble but she stayed put. Cap took a deep breath and started again.

"I-I know you don't like ghosts—" Oh, but what a bad way to start.

"Oh, you noticed?" I remarked bitterly before I could hold back. Dread noticed my tone and growled lowly at Cap, and I didn't bother to scold her.

"I'm sorry okay! I just thought that the pokemon looked cool, so I caught it! I saw a picture of the Champion and she had one, so I thought it would be a good addition to my team! But I didn't know you didn't like them to _this_ extent!" After his outburst, he took a deep breath and continued. "I-I will keep it in its pokeball at night…Just…just _try_ to understand it! Don't just judge it because it is a ghost." Wow, that was very deep, Capricorn the wise. But I had no intentions with fraternizing with a ghost. I sighed, still intending to let him know what I felt too.

"Cap, I'm sorry. I…really shouldn't have reacted that way. I just felt…scared."_Threatened_ I wanted to say, but oh well. "And I have to say that…I… I…really admire that you stood up for your pokemon…" Even if you had to go against me to do so. And even if I was right. Cap frowned at me.

"Why are you afraid of ghosts?" Didn't he hear the compliment I just gave him? Why does he ask of this then? I scowled.

"I don't know. I've always been a little scared of them. It only turned worse when I was traveling to Oreburgh City, when a horde of ghosts haunted us for days…" Yeah, that's probably when it turned worse. I grimaced, still remembering the grinning Haunter that liked to scare the crap out of me…

I suddenly remembered Rick, and wondered how he must be doing. He was strong, but he was kind of…absentminded? Oblivious? Maybe both. Anyways, he was probably at Pastoria City, maybe even Hearthome already.

"Ah, you had it rough, huh?" Cap chuckled. I just nodded. Of course I had it rough. In more ways than I can count.

"Yeah…"

There was a comfortable silence for some time before something snapped us out of our thoughts.

"Hey, you two!" Cap and I both turned, staring at the drenched boy in front of us. He huffed as he moved his dirty blond hair from his face, making me meet hazy blue eyes. I raised my eyebrows. Was he blind? He certainly looked like it. He was also wearing a big blue rain coat that made it impossible to estimate his height from our distance. He grinned, taking out an ultra ball. "Care for a battle?"

Cap and I shared a look, before he smiled.

"Go ahead, I'll leave this one to you." I smiled, turning towards the boy in front of us.

"I accept your challenge."

**An: **

**Okay, im back. Epic appears! Woooo! **

**I don't really have anything to say…so I guess I'll just tell you that I would probably posting the next chapter in the next three days or so. Hope you'll like it and sorry for the short chapter. **

**An; ends**


	27. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

The dirty blond male before us gave another grin and threw his ultra ball. I saw the foe's pokemon before giving the other male a stare. Did he know what he just did? He had to wait for me to call my own pokemon. I just sighed before focusing on the pokemon before me.

It was a small, gray and blue creature whose body kind of reminded me of a bacteria. The only exception was that this pokemon had eyes and fins.

It was a barboach.

I grinned, calling my dear starter.

"Epic!" I shouted, really loud so that my gyarados would hear me, giving the boy a grin. The Atrocious pokemon glanced in my direction with curiosity before getting out of the small stream he was swimming in. The rain was starting to get annoying by this point, I scowled as I wiped the water of my face. Epic was standing before me, standing his twenty-something feet tall with a scary intimidating face. I heard the other boy whistle.

"Good pokemon you have there!" he shouted, making me smirk. Well, it seems the boy wasn't blind after all.

"You won't be backing out because of it, would you?" I teased, shouting too over the sound of the pounding rain. I saw him smile in amusement, shaking his head. _That's better_, I thought with a small smirk. _I need to relieve some stress from not being able to sleep anyways. _

"Epic, let's start with Ice Beam!" And we started.

Most people would think that my gyarados, having more power and more experience in his arsenal, would easily over-power such a small pokemon. But that was _exactly_ the problem. The barboach was too damn small and slippery. It was very difficult to aim the ice attack at it, which annoyed not only me but also Epic. You could tell, from the way he growled and sometimes slammed his tail down on the ground in frustration.

"Epic, try to calm down a bit! That's exactly what they want, for you to lose your cool!" I shouted at him, not hearing my voice because of the heavy rain that didn't stop. I growled, noticing that this downpour wasn't going to stop anytime soon. "Epic, wait! Stand down!" I yelled as loud as I could, making my pokemon stop. It gave me an annoyed look, but I ignored him, walking over to the battle field to meet the other trainer. Lightning flashed through the darkened sky, making me wince. Well, this certainly isn't your usual normal rainy day…

"Hey, can we call it a draw?" I asked the other trainer once I reached his side. He looked at the weather and sighed, nodding. He returned his pokemon to its pokeball, while I noticed something very important all of a sudden.

_Where the hell is Cap?_

"_Mistress, what a good battle." _Noble suddenly teleported to my side, Dread hot on his heels with a scowl. Oh right, she was probably tired and soaking wet. I quickly recalled her to her greatball, before frowning at Noble.

"Where is Cap Noble?"

_"Ah, Capricorn told me he was going to take refuge from the rain. He did not tell me where though," _Noble said with a small tilt of his head. I sighed, shivering a little at the sudden wind that threatened to blow us all away…wait, that's probably an exaggeration…meh…

"Where is your traveling partner?" A sudden voice startled me, making me jump a little in the process. It was the other trainer, the boy with the glazed blue eyes. I gave him a wary look, not trusting him one bit. Seeing that I was alone, I decided to keep Epic and Noble out. They should provide a good defense in case of an assault… "Er, are you okay…?" I blinked. Oh right, the boy.

"Yes, I'm fine. I don't know where my friend went but he should be nearby…" I mean, we haven't been battling for long; Cap couldn't have gone _that_ far. The boy nodded and looked around, probably feeling lost in this kind of situation. He was probably a beginner…

Not that I was feeling sorry for him! I was a beginner once, only difference was that I (thankfully) had enough brains and managed to stick with some more experienced trainers.

Anyways, that wasn't important. What was important was finding Cap. Where could he be… maybe he found some camp, or some strange tree or something…

"Why don't you call him? He should have a phone, right?" I froze. Right. _Of course_. I quickly fished my phone from my pack, dialing Cap and hoping he picked up quickly.

_"You did not thank him, Mistress_," Noble chided. I rolled my eyes, deciding to ignore my gallade in order to properly talk with Cap.

Epic gave his surroundings a lazy stare, before his eyes found the trainer that we were battling against few minutes ago. My gyarados growled lowly, my eyes widened at his hostility.

"_Stop, stop, stop, what are you doing?!"_ I hissed at him, fearing what he might do to the other trainer.

_"Hello, Ari?" _Cap's voice sounded from the cellphone. I gave Epic a sharp glare for him to stay put before proceeding to talk with my black-haired friend.

"Cap? Where are you?" I asked, not bothering to greet him. We had, after all, been together until a few minutes ago. Cap didn't seem to mind though, as he hummed.

"_I don't actually know. It's a small cave that I found passing the small stream where Epic was swimming."_ I glanced at the stream, which now look like it could drag us all the way to the ocean. It obviously had grown from all the rain that kept falling. After the stream, there were a few lines of pine trees that ended just before a small mountain. That much I could see.

"Very well, I'll head that way. Stay out so I can see you." I hung up, pocketing my phone with a sigh. I gave the stream across me a frown. The waters looked strong, maybe Epic could carry me to the other side? Nodding to myself, I started to walk forwards until my gallade stopped me.

_"Are you not forgetting something, Mistress?"_ I gave Noble a blunt stare.

"No." Noble sighed at my answer, motioning at the poor blond trainer that was shivering where I left him. I frowned at him and even Epic scoffed at him. "You don't expect me to bring him along, do you?"

_"Mistress, be a little considerate. Imagine what could happen to him if he is alone in this weather." _Noble reasoned, to which I growled. Noble had a point. But I didn't want to bring the male trainer with me. I didn't trust him. _"I'll keep an eye out on him Mistress. You even have Epic out_." I sighed in surrender.

"Okay, okay, you win." Noble could be a stubborn pokemon when he wanted to. I turned towards the dirty blond male, scowling. "Hey, if you want, you can come with us." His eyes brightened.

"Really?" No.

"Yeah…" I said instead. The teen gave me a grin, nearing me while pocketing his hands on the pockets of his coat.

"Thanks, you're very kind," he told me sincerely. I nodded at him, not telling him that it was actually Noble who he should be thanking, not me. "By the way, doesn't your psychic have a Psychic Lock on your friend? If it does, you can directly teleport towards him." I've heard of a Psychic Lock before, but never have I tried it. I glanced at Noble, silently asking him if he had a Lock on Capricorn. If that was the case, then we didn't need to cross the stream. Noble shook his head, though, crushing my hopes in an instant.

_"I am afraid I do not Mistress. You never told me I had to have one on him." _I groaned.

"That's perfect." I told him sarcastically. "Remember to put a Lock on him when we join him, in case this happens again in the future."

"Wow, your gallade has Telepathy. That's so cool…" I sighed, walking towards the small shore of the stream and ignoring the teen all together. He was probably older than me, but he was acting like a child. I turned towards Epic, pointing at the stream.

"You think you can carry us to the other side?" I asked my water and flying type pokemon. Epic roared in agreement and jumped at the water. The currents didn't seem to bother him in the slightest. I grinned. Now, I had to mount his back….somehow…. I looked at Noble for support. Noble grabbed my shoulder, teleporting onto my gyarados' back swiftly. I sat at a spot between two of his fins, gripping the fin tightly so I wouldn't fall. Epic growled at me, shaking himself a little probably to make me fall. I yelped, holding on tightly until he stopped. This time, I was the one glaring at him.

"Stupid fish…" I muttered under my breath so he wouldn't hear me. I glanced at the blond teen, finding him looking at me as if I was crazy. I rolled my eyes at him, gripping Epic's fin once again when he suddenly moved, and asked,

"What? You're not going to come?" He stared at me for a few more seconds, probably waiting for me to way that I was kidding. After all, who mounts a gyarados that wanted to make its trainer fall to the water? I wasn't kidding though. He stared at me with hazy blue eyes before sighing. He attempted to get on my gyarados, but it was a little harder for him, since he didn't have Noble. But, somehow, he managed to get on without falling.

"You have a license right?" he asked, shaking slightly. Form the cold or the fear, I didn't know.

"License?" I asked. He gave me an incredulous look.

"Yeah, one that allows you to surf, fly, dive, don't tell me you don't have one. It's illegal to swim on a pokemon's back without one!" I froze.

"I-Illegal?" I croaked out just as Epic started to move. My gyarados swam roughly, almost throwing us off of him in the process. I held on tightly for dear life as my mind processed the information. _I'm doing something Illegal! My dad is going to __**kill me**__ if I don't die doing this! He's a police officer after all… maybe he'll spare me. I'm his one and only daughter after all…_

Apparently, Epic didn't feel like obeying me, for he took a detour, swimming besides the shore of the other side to probably piss me off. After sometime, he decided it was enough tormenting for a day and crawled to the land.

_Thank Arceus I thought I was going to die— _

Before I could finish my thought, Epic shook himself roughly, throwing us off his back in an instant. The boy and I fell to the floor with a wet splash, getting dirty with mud from all the merciless rain that kept falling. I groaned, cursing quietly under my breath.

"Epic…" I growled, glaring at him while wiping all the mud from my face. Epic snarled at me before huffing, looking at the side. I gave him a deadpan stare. _What the hell was wrong with him? Where was all the love he used to give me when he was still a magikarp? Where was my nice little baby?! I want him back! _

"_Mistress…"_ Noble sighed tiredly, making me wonder who was the mature human here, me or him?

"Well, it could've gone worse." I shrugged. The other teen gave me a horrified look as if saying: _What do you mean it could've gone wrong?! _I sighed, taking out my pokeball. Epic growled at it, stomping his tail on the ground angrily. I gave him a glare. "Well, you don't exactly _fit_ in a small cave, big boy. I'll take you out tomorrow, I promise." Epic growled at me lowly before nearing me, giving me a 'gentle' head-butt. I winced. "I'm not mad Epic. I swear I'll take you out tomorrow," I told him once again until he nodded. I sighed in relief. Epic was kind of unpredictable sometimes. I smiled, muttering a 'good work' before returning him to his pokeball.

"I thought it was going to eat you." I heard the trainer say rather bluntly when Epic was out of sight. I gave him a look.

"Just be grateful he didn't deem _you_ as food when he met you." I countered with annoyance. Epic didn't listen to me sometimes but it wasn't that bad. _Yet_. The teen's wide eyes were hilarious, so I couldn't help the laugh that escaped me.

"Y-You're kidding right? I-It won't eat me, r-right?" I shook my head and he sighed in relief. I added then for my own enjoyment,

"Well, I guess not. He doesn't like blond boys." I lied.

"…that-that's not helping…"

"Ari! Thank Arceus I finally found you!" Cap's voice startled me, but in a good way. I turned to see my black-haired, blue eyed friend running towards me with his Mightyena in toll. He reached my side, scanning my body in an instant. "Are you okay—You're covered in mud! What happened?" Before I could explain what happened, he noticed the presence of the other blond male. His mightyena growled. "Who's this?" I was slowly growing annoyed by it all. The questions, the rain, the cold, the mud, Epic, _oh my Arceus I just did something illegal too didn't I?! _

"I'm—"

"Can't we discuss this issue at a nice, dry and _warm_ place?" I asked, a small bitter smile painting my dirty face. _Ugh_. I was feeling very annoyed at this moment, and I didn't even know exactly why. It's probably because I'm a hormonal teenager…Yeah, that probably was it. Either that or I was bi-polar.

Cap chuckled at my words, agreeing with me before he herded us towards the supposed cave he had found.

All the way, another thought came to my mind.

Please, don't let them be ghosts at the cave. Please, Arceus, please….

Yeah, that would be a perfect way to spend this atrocious day.

* * *

><p><strong>An Start<strong>

**Okay, so imma keep this short cause im sleepy as hell. As in, why am I even updating at three in the morning?! **

**I hope you liked this chapter, we finally get some Epic-Action! Lol, pun intended. **

**Anyways, the new character that im going to introduce next chapter is going to be very important to Ariann. As in, VERY important. **

**And yeah, I think that is all…zzzzzzz**

**An, End**


	28. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

"My name is Sergio Strongsea," the dirty blond trainer introduced himself sheepishly, making me freeze. Strongsea? Strongsea?! I only knew one Strongsea; it was the name of a famous family that had a very strong company that excelled in transportation of goods and pokemon. They were something akin to royalty, on top of the transportation industry and already creating their own goods so they could export them all over the regions. Cargo boats, planes, submarines, helicopters, they all belonged to the Strongsea Company. It was a well known name in all the regions, even though they were from the Kanto Region.

And if it _was_ true that this boy was a Strongsea, what was he doing _here_, of all places?

"Then why are you here? Shouldn't you be with your family learning things or something?" Cap voiced my thoughts, making me scowl. _I was going to say that… _

Sergio sighed dejectedly, looking at the fire before us with a hint of sadness. Then something suddenly hit me. He said he was a Strongsea. _A_ Strongsea, not the _heir_ of the Strongsea. Could it be…?

"You're not the heir?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him. He scoffed, looking at the fire bitterly.

"I wish." He said sarcastically. Then he seemed to realize what he said and blushed. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to talk like that." I gave him an incredulous look. What? He wasn't allowed to use sarcasm? _Please_. "I just...am a little hurt. To know people think an heir's purpose is to study and learn. It's just like my father said…" He frowned, a sad look passing his hazy blues eyes. I frowned.

"Heirs shouldn't always study and learn." At my words, both males turned towards me. I continued. "You can't learn everything from being coped up in a room, or from reading books. Sometimes the best way to learn is tasting a little bit of life, getting to know people and places, looking at things form someone else' shoes, traveling to grow stronger. There are lessons out there that can't be experienced by reading books." I know that because I've lived it. With each man I encounter, with Survival, with other people and pokemon, it was all different from what I've learnt and read. The _world_ is different. I gave him a determined look. "Sometimes experience is better than knowledge."

There was silence, filled only by the crackling of the small fire we had build and the drops of rain that continued to relentlessly fall outside the small cave( that was thankfully unoccupied by any pokemon). Then I noticed something.

_I…I just said something very inspiring, didn't I?! _

"What she said." Cap smiled, encouraging the smaller male in doing the same. _What a sly bastard Cap was, taking all the credit of my inspiring phrase…_

"Experience is better huh…" Sergio muttered to himself with a small smile, making me smile slightly too. He was a cute boy...I-I mean, nice! Nice boy! Ariann, just what are you thinking?!

"Hey, you still haven't told us what you're doing here," Cap said, ruining the mood immediately. Good job, Cap, _good job_. I gave him a sharp glare, making him notice just what he had said. "I-I mean, if it's not too personal!" I sighed, running my hand across my face to hide my expression. _What an idiot_…

"It's fine." The dirty blond male laughed, taking off his coat so that he wouldn't catch a cold. I glanced at my wet hoodie but decided against it. I wasn't going to take it off with two guys in the same enclosed space. This was kind of uncomfortable as it was, my only reassurance being my baby trapinch, that was resting near my legs, and Cap(that wouldn't try anything…I hope…). "You see, I always loved pokemon. And becoming a pokemon trainer was my dream. When I mentioned it to my father, he was angry. He said that 'That lifestyle wasn't proper of a Strongsea', and made me study harder than ever. For some time, I tolerated it, making him believe that I had changed my mind." He paused, frowning up at the ceiling of the cave as if searching for an answer, but then I noticed he wasn't doing it on purpose. He was just thinking hard about something, too lost in his mind to notice what he was doing with his body. "I think it was six months ago, when I mentioned it to him again." Six months. Does that mean that he ran away from his home?

"So, you ran away?" Cap asked, obviously intrigues by Sergio's story. I, too, was interested by it, so I didn't say anything, waiting for Sergio's answer. The blond male shook his head.

"No, but I…rebelled…a little…" he said instead, and I raised a brow. He seemed like a very obedient boy. I couldn't imagine him rebelling against _anything_, really. He probably saw my face, because he quickly explained. "I refused to study, I didn't eat much either, didn't make the simplest of tasks like maintaining my room clean or attending some meetings. After some time, he grew annoyed at my behavior and decided to let me travel around. 'You have two months, 'he said, giving me two pokemon and dropping me off. Of course, he left me at _Kanto_, not here in Sinnoh. So, I had an acquaintance of mine take me here." He finished, smiling at his accomplishment. I smiled too, amused at the boy before me. Even though he was rich, he was pretty humble and normal. Seriously, I thought he was going to be a brat or something.

"Wow, I certainly wasn't expecting that. Where are you heading next? You only have two months, you know," Cap said, probably a little touched by Sergio's story. Sergio grimaced at Cap's words, he scratched his jaw nervously, his eyes avoiding ours.

"You see…Well, it's a little complicated…" I groaned.

"Come on, it _can't_ be that bad…" I muttered.

"Actually, it is not bad. I just…kind of…exceeded the…time limit…" He did _what_?

"By how much?" I couldn't keep the surprise out of my voice. How could a guy like this escape the clutches of his father and the whole Strongsea Company?

"Just by a week or so." I sighed. Okay, so it wasn't by _that_ much time. That explains a lot. "They are probably looking for me in Kanto." He grinned. I sighed.

"Or maybe your father left you off the hook for a few days more," I couldn't help but say, being the pessimist I was. He gave me a pout for stating the obvious. "They _do_ have a Psychic Lock on you, right?" He opened his mouth to retort but then his eyes widened, as if he just realized it.

"That's right…Argh, I'm so dead meat right now…" he groaned, leaning back against the wall of the cave, probably tired.

"Maybe…maybe we can cancel the Lock…" Cap's idea seemed to revive the Strongsea heir, for he sat up straight again, staring at Cap intently.

"Really?" Cap hesitated a little before nodding.

"Yeah, I heard it could be done. By a strong Dark-type pokemon." As if on cue, all of us glanced at the mightyena near the entrance of the cave. As if sensing our gaze, the dark-type turned towards us, giving us a glare. I looked at Cap, frowning.

"Well, Black doesn't seem that happy with us at this moment."

"Nonsense." My black haired friend scoffed, calling his starter to his side. The mightyena rolled its eyes before heading towards Cap, sitting beside him. "Well Black, what about it? You think you are strong enough to remove a Psychic Lock?" Black growled at the challenge, barking a 'yes'. He turned towards Sergio, sniffing him from afar, before closing his eyes.

For a while, nothing happened. Then, the dark-type pokemon started to glow faintly with a strong dark purple aura. The glow was soft at first, gradually increasing in power as time passed. As the mightyena concentrated his power, I glanced at Sergio, who was staring curiously at the black and grey pokemon. _It seems like it isn't working… _

As if to prove me wrong, Sergio's body began to glow with a soft purple hue, making us all stare at him in awe. He looked at himself in surprise, blinking owlishly but not moving too much in case his movements ruined the Dark-type pokemon's concentration.

It only lasted for a minute or two, before the glowing faded into nothing. Black huffed, panting slightly, before nestling beside Cap, ready to fight exhaustion with sleep.

"U-Um…did it work?" Sergio asked uncertainly, looking at the now sleepy mightyena in wonder. Cap shrugged. And I sighed.

"Hey Black…" Cap called to his pokemon. Its red eyes snapped open, a snarl escaping its mouth with a nasty snap of teeth. Cap just laughed it off though. "Come on, don't be like that. You know you love me!" With that said, he roughly petted the pokemon on the head with a grin on his face. Sergio looked at him in horror, probably thinking the dark-type pokemon was going to get violent and eat Cap's hand. But Black did none of that, opting for lowering his ears in irritation and glaring at his trainer in distaste. I smiled. It sure painted a nice picture.

"I swear, you guys are crazy…" I heard the boy mutter under his breath, but I didn't comment him on it.

"So Black, did it work?" Cap finally stopped teasing his pokemon, opting for softly massaging the pokemon's head instead. The pokemon muttered something, which got us staring at him cluelessly. I sighed, taking out Noble's healball for the sake of poke-translation. I let him out, and the cave seemed to get crowded all of a sudden. I growled as I get pushed closer to the dirty blond male by Noble, who sat beside me with a tilt of his head.

_"What is wrong Mistress? Oh, your clothes are wet. You should take them off or change them, or you will get sick."_ I sighed at his words.

"Yeah Noble, later. Can you tell us what Black wants to say?" My gallade gave me a stern look for dodging his concern before getting to work. After a few exchange of words, the mightyena fell back to sleep beside his master.

_"Well, it seems Black was able to weaken the Lock, but he was not able to completely break it. The boy needs to get a Dark-type pokemon for himself, powerful enough to break the Lock. In the meantime though, Black said the presence of a Dark-type pokemon should be able to hide the boy from a psychic's radar."_ We stayed in silence for a few moments, contemplating Noble's words. My trapinch woke up, and started to demand some attention. I hushed her and put her on my lap, petting her to maintain her quiet.

"Well, I guess I just have to catch a dark-type pokemon, right?" Sergio smiled, looking at all of us with a sincere look of gratitude in his eyes. "Thank you, all of you." He said, making me smile slightly.

"No problem. We can also help you catch a good Dark-type pokemon." I said, thinking that, okay, Noble was right in wanting to help this boy. A sudden idea hit me like a bullet train, completely out of nowhere. And, I have to admit, it was a very good and convenient Idea. I smirked. "Or maybe, you know, if someone was _good_ and _considerate_ and just _gave you one_, it would be perfect." I said, hinting Cap with every word. Cap narrowed his eyes at me.

"Ari, no. Not happening, sorry."

"Awww, come _on_! You have two dark types. You can give him the ghost, I won't mind." Of course I wouldn't mind. Purple would go with Sergio, and the ghost would stop haunting me for the rest of my life! And everyone lives happily!

"It's not a matter if you mind or not! We already got over this, and you said it was fine with Purple staying!" He scowled at me, and I held up my hands in surrender.

"Hey, I was kidding." I lied. I really, _really_ wanted the ghost gone. But oh well, maybe next time.

"You really need to stop this discrimination." Cap scolded me sternly, Noble nodding in agreement at my side. I glared at them both.

"I really am not discriminating it!" I saw Sergio frown at us as we continued to bicker like a married old couple.

"Ari, don't tell me you're not discriminating, 'casue that's what you're doing! You're judging him by what he is! Just because you're afraid of him!"

"I'm _not_ afraid of him!" I snapped back in my defense. What was the point, really? Maybe I didn't like people to point my fears out like that. Plus, I had to defend my pride. Even if I had to lie in the process.

_"Ariann, you're afraid of him_. Just admit it." Cap was now smirking at me with confidence, knowing he had all the winning cards. I glowered at him.

"Why you—"

"Wait, you just said Ariann, didn't you?" Sergio suddenly interrupted, making us freeze. "Isn't that a girl's name? He's a boy." He suddenly looked at me with narrowed eyes, as if inspecting me. I looked away from him, glaring at Cap for his slip of tongue. _I'll murder you in your sleep bastard, just so you know. _I tried to convey with my glare, and I think it must've worked because he flinched, laughing nervously and avoiding my gaze. "Now that I look closely, you _do_ look like a girl…you have very big eyelashes…" I flinched, hearing his voice near me. I looked in his direction, finding him closer than he had been before. I clutched my trapinch tighter, trying to scoot away from the curious blond. When he made to get closer to me, Hope snapped her massive jaws near him in warning. He flinched at her aggressiveness, stopping his advance. I sighed in relief, petting Hope's head in thanks. He shot me a hurt look.

"What's wrong with you? I was just asking a question. But judging by your reaction, you're not that offended by my guess. So, are you or are you not a girl?" Stupid rich brat was too intelligent for his own good… what do I tell him? Yeah, I'm a girl, so what? Or What?! Dude are you serious?! You're dead wrong, I'm pretty sure I have a nice pair of—eherm, let's end it there.

"Well, does it matter?" Cap asked suddenly, breaking me out of my thoughts with his words. I stared at him as he narrowed his beautiful blue eyes dangerously at Sergio, thinking about how good looking he was. Wait, this is not the time to be thinking about my hot best friend! My identity was at stake here!

Sergio gave Cap a frown before sighing, shaking his head.

"I guess not…" I sighed, finally Sergio decided to drop the subject. I smiled to myself. Maybe I won't murder Cap after all…Nah, I shall still try. It may be fun.

"So I'm going to start to make the food. Please don't kill each other," Cap said, looking at both of us (though his gaze lingered on me for too long) before starting to work on the canned food that we kept in our bags for emergencies. I sighed, leaning back against my bag to use it as support. Noble did the same, insisting that I took off my wet clothes while I waved his concerns off.

A flash made me look around in warning. At first I thought it was lighting flashing, but then I noticed that it was just Sergio, who had taken out one of his pokemon to keep him company. It was an undeniably cute, brown fur ball that seemed to be a little too energetic on this rainy night.

_"Vee!"_ The small eevee cried, jumping at its trainer with happiness. I smiled slightly, happy that Sergio at least had a very good pokemon with him(not only the barboach).

"S-Samantha! Stop it! I know I haven't seen you since yesterday, but don't be such a baby!" he complained, trying to fight off his pokemon but it was faster and sneakier than him. In the end, the evolution pokemon settles at his head, making a bed out of his hair. I chuckled at the view. They sure were a cute sight…

"I know you're a girl…" Sergio suddenly whispered at me, making me freeze. I glared at his face, but I didn't get any malicious intentions from his bold declaration. Seeing my reaction, he smiled at me reassuringly. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I'm just a little curious. Why do you dress like a boy?" He seemed genuinely interested, but I wasn't naïve. I won't just tell him all about me when we just met.

"It's a…secret." I really didn't want him to know that I feared men. That was a weakness I had. A weakness that could be used against me at any time. And I didn't _want_ to be weak. I wanted to be strong. And knowing that nobody knew about my fear(except for Cap) made me feel stronger, for some reason.

"It's okay, I won't pry. Everyone has things that we don't want other people to know. We all have secrets after all." I remained silent, not knowing how to respond to his words.

_"Achooooo!"_ We both jumped at Cap's super sneeze. He cleaned his nose, gave us a sheepish and continued to stir the soup as if nothing had happened. Wait…

"Did he just…?" I didn't dare finish my question. It was too gross, even for me.

"I'm _not_ going to eat that." I heard Sergio say with finality, and I couldn't help but agree with him.

_"Vee…/Pinch…"_

* * *

><p><strong>An: Start!<strong>

**Ok, so today I made a record and finished at 2 in the morning! Woooooo! **

**Anyway, Ewwwwwwww Cap sneezed in the soup. Imagine all the germs XD lol **

**Since im sleepy as hell, im going to keep this short. Please tell me if I wrote something wrong regarding Sergio and the Strongsea Company. I have no idea how a company works so it was all made up or using my amazing(not) logic.**

**Anyways, that's it. im sleepy. Bye.**

**By the way, guys, random question. Haven't you scared yourself with your own music. As in, there is silence until the other song starts, you're in your own little world, and then suddenly…BAM! Loud music comes out and scares the shit out of you? It happened to me while typing this thing lol, BMTH Drown. I almost died. **

**Now, bye! Reviews make me happy:)**

**AN end.**


	29. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

"Achooo! *Sniff* D-Damn…" I rolled my eyes as I jumped over a small puddle. I _knew_ it. Cap was going to get sick. _Again_. The rain had finally subsided, letting us get out of our hiding spot and continue on our way towards Solaceon Town.

Noble was resting in his heal ball, but Epic and Ambition were wondering around now that the weather was considerably better. Apart from my own pokemon, Sergio and Cap also had two pokemon out each. Sergio had his eevee, Samantha, and his barboach, Roden, while Cap told Black and _Purple_ (_ugh, stupid pokemon_) to stay close to Sergio. They were both Dark-types, so it should be fine for a good while. The dirty blond heir didn't look too comfortable with a stranger's pokemon so close to him (It was worse when Purple started to _giggle_…) but he managed to stay pretty calm in the situation.

He couldn't stay like this forever though. He will have to find a way to break that Psychic Lock as soon as he can.

"Hey, what if I use a Dusk Stone? It contains dark power too, right?" Sergio suggested with Samantha perched atop his head, making him look undeniably cute (even with the mud and dirt on his face). I avoided the sight, trying to focus on the trees or on my own pokemon or else I was going to get a cute overload. I noticed Ambition chasing around wild pokemon, but I didn't get a glimpse of Epic. Where had my gyarados ran off to now?

"Hmmmm…" Cap hummed, frowning with a thoughtful look. "Maybe it will work…" he muttered as he rubbed his runny red nose. I rolled my eyes at him.

"You sure, Pooch?" Poochyena had red noses too, right? He caught onto my pun and gave me a light glare.

"I thought I was your Knight?"

"It was _Hero_, not Knight." I corrected. He blushed at the words and looked away, muttering things under his breath. I snickered at him. Did he really feel embarrassed about it after all this time? Sergio frowned at us.

"'Hero'?" he repeated in confusion. I waved him off, saying, "Long Story". He frowned slightly. "Unfair…" he mumbled.

"Well, will it really work? Remember it's just an item, it doesn't have a life and it only reacts to certain things or pokemon." Sergio's eyes saddened a little by my words. I didn't want to be the party pooper, but I didn't want Cap to give the boy any false hopes either. Cap seemed to think about my words and shrugged.

"I think it's a 50-50 chance." I groaned, not really believing he believed that himself. Sergio was looking more depressed by every passing moment too. "But come on, we can try it out anyways!" Cap quickly amended, trying to cheer the dirty blond up. The younger male gave Cap a thankful smile, but he still looked doubtful.

"Yeah…"

We continued walking, me slipping a few times on a small landslide while my two companions didn't even trip. I huffed, annoyed with the general environment. Really, why was it so hard to move on wet ground? It was slippery, and loose, and generally annoy—

_'Pupitar!'_ My rock and dark-type pokemon slammed into me, knocking me off my feet and into the slippery ground. I gasped for air as the wind was knocked out of my lungs, coughing and groaning Ambition's name as Cap and Sergio blinked at us in confusion. Since I couldn't talk to explain to them that I was okay, I tried to wave them off with my hand. They probably took it the wrong way, because they neared my side quickly to check if I was really okay.

_'Pupi!Pupitar!' _

"G-Get off!" I pushed my pokemon, sitting up in the process. I panted, giving Ambition a glare. What was his _deal_? Cap chuckled quietly while Sergio offered his hand to help me up. I paid neither of them any attention, standing up by myself and cleaning some of the mud off me. Sergio awkwardly looks at his own hand and wipes it against his jeans, trying to not look awkward and failing miserably.

I turned towards Ambition, who was giving anxious looks towards the far away line of trees, where stronger pokemon lived and more experienced trainers fought. In other words, the kind of place neither me nor any of my pokemon were supposed to be at. I paled, suddenly realizing something. _Where was Epic_?

"Ambition, where is Epic?" My pupitar made an agitated motion towards the tree line, floating in circular motions to show his anxiousness.

"Don't tell me…" That stupid overgrown fish! I shall fucking grill him! Does he not worry about himself?! Does he think that just because he's big he can do whatever the hell he wants?! Well, life doesn't work that way! And I'll show him! Stupid overgrown water worm…

I could feel my mood darken with every thought as a scowl started to form on my face. My black-haired friend probably noticed it and laughed nervously.

"Um, Ari? E-Everything okay?" I smiled _sweetly_ at him as I said,

"Oh, everything is okay indeed. I'll just go search for Epic so I can _fucking kill him._" I smiled once again before heading towards the trees. Ambition quickly took the lead and my smile fell off my face as I scowled once again.

_Wait 'till I get there you stupid water snake…_

I followed after my shell pokemon, trying to not attract the attention of the wild pokemon in the area that could probably end us both with one or two hits. After a few close calls, one being with a tauros and the other being with a very angry looking bibarel, I started to feel my determination waver.

Arceus, why am I even doing this again? Oh right, Epic. I was doing dangerous things for my stupid idiotic starter. I still can't believe he just ran off…

"Really though, that's so stupid…" I muttered as I continued to stealthily walk after my floating shell pokemon. My pupitar gave me a stare and nodded. I liked to believe that he was agreeing with me, so I sighed and kept complaining about my gyarados. "I mean, I get it that he's strong and big, but he _can't just leave. _He's not a wild pokemon."

'_Tar_.'

"And he's not even thinking about his well being! What if something bad happens to him? Or if someone hurts him? Someone like Survival?" The infamous group has been laying low for some time, but that doesn't mean that they're not planning something.

'_Tar_!' My pupitar was probably ignoring my rant, just guiding me through the dense trees and avoiding pokemon as we went. I decided to just shut up, since complaining won't help me find my atrocious pokemon in any way (even if it made me feel a little bit better).

We continued walking until I started to hear loud growling and snarling. _Oh Arceus please don't let it be him… _I headed towards the sounds as they kept getting louder and more aggressive with each step I took.

…

…Guess who it was?

My stupid idiotic starter!

I saw Epic standing proudly against another Epic…wait what?

I blinked, noticing that there were two gyarados instead of one. And apparently, they were fighting over a small pond, probably over territory. They were growling and roaring at each other, often snapping their jaws to catch the other off guard.

I groaned, hiding behind some bushes to not catch their attention. They could not be Epic after all. I mean, one of them _could_ or _couldn't_ be Epic… or maybe they both weren't Epic…

_Ugh I should paint one of his fins or something in case this happens again...dark blue would look good…_

_'Tar! Pupitar!'_ My pokemon nudged me out of my thoughts, motioning to the two rampaging behemoths still fighting. I grimaced, knowing what he wanted me to do.

"Are you sure that's Epic, Ambition?" I couldn't help but ask. My rock-type nodded, floating around anxiously as if he were worried about Epic. Maybe he _was _worried about Epic… "I seriously can't understand why Epic hates you…" I muttered as I began to head towards the two gyarados cautiously.

The pokemon didn't pay me any attention, struggling and splashing water in all directions as they clashed.

"Ehm…Epic?" I said meekly, noticing how one of the gyarados immediately stopped, glancing at me with curiosity. Okaaaaaaaay. This one is definitely not Epic…Epic would probably look at me with annoyance; he may even glare at me for intruding in his fight.

The other gyarados, probably Epic, took that opportunity to lash out, grabbing the other gyarados by the throat and slamming it to the pond. I stared shocked at the display of violence, not moving an inch as my jaw dropped. The other gyarados struggled before going still with a growl-like whine. Probably-Epic gave the fallen gyarados a rough shake before letting it go. It stayed on the ground for a few seconds, waiting for Probably-Epic to make a move. Probably-Epic growled at it, making it growl softly back before it started to retreat.

I stared at the actions with a dumb look. This gyarados…was really powerful…

The blue water and wind-type pokemon turned towards me then, giving me an annoyed face. Yup. This one's Epic.

I was about to congratulate him on his fight for dominance or whatever that had been, but then I remembered. I remembered _why_ we were here and _why_ I was angry at him. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"You stupid overgrown fish! Why did you run off by yourself?! Something could've happened to you! Or-I don't know, maybe you could've hurt someone!" I noticed the retreating tail of my pokemon and my anger spiked. "ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?" I yelled, stomping after him as Ambition floated after me silently.

Epic turned towards me, giving me an unimpressed look before huffing. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath to control my anger. I quickly opened them before my pokemon fled again though.

"Look," I started sternly, "I know you're big and strong and all, but you _can't just_ _leave_ your trainer like that. You have to be careful Epic. You could get captured by someone; or maybe hurt yourself or even get killed! What would you do if you got hurt or something? What would _I_ do then?!" I ranted angrily, noticing my gyarados was just looking a little guilty but still not actually understanding what I was trying to explain to him. I sighed tiredly, taking out his pokeball.

"Just…Return for now." I quickly returned him, noticing the hurt look in his red eyes before he was gone in a flash of white light. I pocketed the pokeball silently before taking out Dread's great ball. I sent her out, not wasting any time as I requested her assistance.

"Dread, try to sniff out Cap so we can get back." My gabite gave me a long look before nearing my side, rubbing her head against it silently before heading off. I followed after her with Ambition close behind.

What I did to Epic…was it really okay? I mean, to suddenly put him inside his pokeball when we were having a serious discussion (well, _I_ was trying to anyways, since he didn't seem to find anything wrong in the situation.). But there wasn't much I could say to him to make him understand. I think it was an understandable punishment… I hope he doesn't get mad at me for doing that…

As I continued to pounder on my thoughts, I heard the sounds of battling nearby. Feeling curious, I headed in that direction, finding a _very_ interesting battle going on.

"Estefano, use Twister!"

"Blue, use Whirlpool!" Both twisted attacks combined, the water lighting up with blue fire as a massive flaming tornado headed towards the two opposing pokemon.

I stared, amazed at the sight of the combined attack. The two small Mime Jr. didn't stand a chance as the attacked swiped them off their feet, getting trapped in the vortex and hurt by the water and flames.

"Use Psychic to separate the attacks!" One of the twins (obviously the trainer of one of the Mime Jr.) told the pokemon with a panicked face. The other twin nodded, apparently agreeing with the idea.

"Use Psychic too!"

The two smaller pokemon tried to fight their way out of the attack, but their opponents were having none of it.

"Estefano, enforce it with Dragon Breath!" My companion, Sergio, commanded his pokemon, a very weird colored dragonair (a pink one). The pink pokemon complied, releasing a powerful Dragon Breath attack that made the flames of the tornado burn brighter and hotter.

Cap, who was standing besides Sergio, nodded at his Marshtomp, who launched another whirlpool attack to keep the fire at bay.

The two psychics didn't last much longer, the amazing tornado-combination giving my two companions the victory of the battle. I smiled at the two boys and headed towards them, wanting to praise them on the amazing battle.

"Nice battle! But Cap, I have a question…How is it that you didn't sneeze _at all_ during the battle?" I asked him teasingly. He gave me a small glare, rubbing his nose with a sniff.

"I can't _control_ it, you know…" he muttered.

"I know, right?! It was so _awesome_!" Sergio yelled excitedly, the grin on his face lighting up my mood slightly. The poor kid probably never double battled before and has obviously been traveling alone for some time now… Sergio's pokemon, Estefano, flew above me lazily, Dread immediately started to follow his shadow, attempting t play with him or something. Ambition watched her go with an unreadable expression. I glanced back at Estefano, noticing his big from and pink scales. It looked beautiful.

Sergio noticed my gaze and explained, "Estefano is a shiny. It means he has a different coloration." I gave him a smile.

"That's so cool…" I said in awe. I never thought I'll see an actual shiny pokemon. I turned back towards his pokemon, appreciating its graceful movements as it descended, nearing Dread curiously. She neared him excitedly, Ambition not that far behind (though with less enthusiasm), and tried to start playing with him, but the shiny pokemon merely sniffed her before flying back up. Dread whined in annoyance and I chuckled.

"Dad bought Estefano and Samantha for me for traveling." Sergio shrugged. Oh my Arceus…he said it so nonchalantly! Even though the pokemon are extremely rare! And one was _shiny_! How come?!

"Well, how about we continue? If we head this way, we'll get to Solaceon Town in a short while." Cap instantly snapped me out of my musings, making me follow his stare. It was directed to a small path that led towards an ominous tower that gave me the creeps…

"But that road is full of landslides," I frowned. Not only that, the tower probably contains some ghosts inside too. I can feel my fear sensor going haywire. Sergio nodded seriously, returning his dragonair.

"We got to be careful." I internally face-palmed. _Why couldn't you suggest that we take another path?_

"Or, maybe, you know, we can take another path or something…" I said as casually as I could, which apparently wasn't casual enough by the glances the two males gave me. I glared at them. "Okay fine! We'll go that way, don't complain if you fall or something!"

"Oh please Ari…" Cap rolled his eyes at me, which made me roll mine back at him.

"Says the guy the healthy guy…" I said sarcastically, earning a chuckle from Sergio. Cap glared at me as he returned his pokemon, Blue.

"Hey, I _am_ healthy."

"Let's hurry up before he gets sick." I ignored him, to which Sergio reminded,

"You mean _sicker_." I glanced at Sergio with a grin, which he returned wholeheartedly. At last, I have a teasing partner! (Muahaha!)

"Yeah, that's right. Thanks Sergio."

"No problem."

"Why are you two ganging up on me?!" Cap shouted in frustration, making our pokemon blink at him weirdly. Except Purple of course, the sadistic ghost gave chuckled at its trainer's dismay.

Our group started to head north, through the landslides and puddles on the ground, and against the rain and wind that tried to push us down. I am not proud to say that I fell on a landslide. Twice. The first time was all because of Dread's enthusiasm and her "helpful" antics (I guess you can what she tried to do) and the second one because of Purple, stupid ghost of death. On the other hand, neither Cap or Sergio fell. Both slipped a few times, but didn't fall. Which I consider unfair. _Arceus, why thy abandon me? _

By the time we came out of route 209, I was annoyed as hell, muddy and pretty much soaked to the bone. But it was worth it.

After all, we had finally arrived at Solaceon Town.

**AN Start! **

**Oh my gosh im really sorryyyyyyy**

**College is actually killing me. slowly and painfully, but surely killing me. **

**Anyways, this chapter was a filler so…yea sorry. Anyways, I'll try to post the next chapter as soon as I can. **

**Oh also, I changed the art of the story! Its made by Airenee, a writer that has an awesome story called Screts of the Night. You should really check it out if you haven't already. You might get a sneak peak about this story if you do;) Anyways, I did a collab with her and she made me a Fanart of Ariann! So woooooo! **

**Eherm, so yea. Im really sorry guys. I'll try to post the nest chapter as soon as I can. **

***Dies because Chemistry sucks* **

**AN; Ends! **


	30. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Rainy days are officially the worst days ever. I decided as I showered, getting rid of the mud and grime that decided to coat my body disgustingly. Not only my body, but also my hair! How I got mud on my hair was beyond me (Though I have a suspicion that it might have happened when I fell…).

Anyways, we had finally arrived at Solaceon Town, a pretty small town that would probably look cheery if it weren't for the horrible weather. We quickly headed towards the safety of the considerably empty Pokémon Center and asked for two small rooms (Sergio and Cap will be sharing). After leaving my pokemon with the kind nurse, I didn't waste any more time in heading towards my room and getting showered. I didn't want to be covered in mud.

Sighing, I turned off the shower and quickly got out. I started to dry myself as I thought about our next course of action. We could probably stay here until the rain stopped, even if the stay will be boring as hell. We could check out the area if we got too bored (even though that would be counterproductive since we'll get wet anyways). We could also continue, since probably the rain will stop when we reached the other route…

I was about to put on my shirt when I heard the door to the bathroom open.

"Ariann, do you—" I froze as a light brown head peered through the half open door. Sergio froze mid-sentence, staring at my clothing (or lack thereof) with a gaping mouth. I felt embarrassment and fear course through me as I tried to move to cover my body. It didn't work, my body was suddenly locked in place. Slowly, a blush started to make its way to his face and I could feel I wasn't faring any better.

"G-GET OUT!" I finally found my voice, shrieking at him as I tried to cover myself with the shirt in my hands. The dirty-blonde male quickly stumbled out of the bathroom, slamming the door and screaming an apology that I wasn't going to accept.

I let out a shaky breath as I slumped against the wall, my heart beating frantically against my ribcage in fear and embarrassment. That was so…embarrassing! Being seen half naked by a boy-_by a friend_-…Now he'll never see me with the same eyes! He'll think I'm weak, scrawny, ugly… That's what I was thinking, but looking back at the scene, remembering _his face_…Never in my life had a boy looked at me like that, like I was a beautifully shaped figure. Not even my big brother, he always looked at me with fondness, but not like _this_… It made me feel different…wanted, somehow. And the worst of all is that I _liked_ it, that feeling…

I shook my head, glaring at the floor. _Stop saying that to yourself, you're just confused. It's just the adrenaline…Men are beast. _I told myself as I glared at the floor, remembering that one men from that one time. Why would someone look my board-like body with such struck eyes? Even less someone I just met! It's ridiculous! This isn't a stupid fairy tale where the nice boy falls in love with the traumatized girl!

Growling, I stood up and angrily finished dressing. I took my dirty clothes and towel and stomped out of the bathroom with a scowl adorning my face. Sergio, who was sitting on _my_ bed, quickly stood up, the blush still permanent on his face. I glowered at him.

"You have _five_ seconds…" I told him warningly, lowering my voice and narrowing my eyes at his stupid face.

"I-I'm sorry! I-I really, really, _really_ didn't mean to—"

"Four," I said as I started my countdown.

"Um! Um! I was going to ask you if you had some painkillers for Cap! He seems to have a headache and he also looks pale—"

"Cap is sick again…" I muttered mostly to myself, to which Sergio nodded vigorously. "Still…that doesn't explain _why_ you barged into my bathroom-a _girl's_ bathroom-!" I growled at him, still mad at him for obvious reasons. Anyways, we're in a freaking Pokémon center, why doesn't he go to the head nurse or something? He blushed, as if he hadn't quite thought how strange it would look if he went into another person's bathroom. Somehow, that seemed to anger me even more.

"I... I was looking for you!"

"In the _bathroom_?" I asked, eyeing a nice looking vase in the corner of a room and imagining how beautiful it would look if it collided with Sergio's head. I decided against it, I was too young to be charged with murder. _(If only I knew…)_

"Yes! Wait, I mean no!"

"You're a pervert, aren't you? I should've let Epic eat you!" I screamed at him as I threw my bundle of clothes at him. It wasn't a good idea, now that I think about it, cause of all the things he could catch, guess what was his priority?

…my underwear.

I stared at the bras on his hand with a pale face as Sergio held it with a horrified blushing face, as if he didn't know what to do with it. He quickly let them fall to the floor though, giving me a sideway glance and laughing awkwardly.

"I-I'm sorry?" he said with a wince, expecting me to lash out at him. And I wanted to, oh so badly I wanted to, but I just couldn't. I was way too embarrassed and tired to deal with any of this.

"I _hate_ you." I spat at him, narrowing my eyes with all the hate I could muster as I marched to him. He quickly backed away, pinning himself to the wall as I angrily took my clothes from the floor and put them in the laundry basket. I turned back to him, seeing him still standing there. I sighed. "_What_ do you want?"

"E-Erm, do you have those…pain killers?" I sighed once again, feeling oddly tired as I gave him a bored look.

"No, go away." He flinched, his shoulders hunching in disappointment.

"But I didn't do anything wrong…" he muttered to himself though I heard. My dormant anger spiked.

"'Did nothing wrong'? You peeped at me! Like a perverted Peeping Tom!"

"What's going on here?" Cap entered the room with a scrunched face, probably feeling the headache at its full right now. He looked at the withdrew Sergio and my bristled form in confusion.

"He perved into my bathroom while I was changing—"

"I was searching for her and accidentally stepped into her bathroom—"

We both looked at each other, me angry and he disbelieving.

"_Accidentally_ stepped into my bathroom?" I sneered. "I'm pretty sure that was on purpose."

"Perved? It's not like I did it on purpose! I just wasn't thinking!" He threw his hands up in exasperation. "And I apologized!"

"You didn't!" I snapped at him, he glared at me and snapped back.

"Yes I did! You just didn't accept it!"

"Because it didn't sound real!"

"It _did_ though—"

"Could you two please fucking _stop_ for a minute?" Cap groaned from his place near the door, giving us the lethal eyes. Sergio and I both flinched at his hostility. "I'm having a bad headache right now and you two are really not helping…" he turned to me with disapproving eyes and I had to look away, ashamed for some reason. "He said sorry Ari, even though you're angry you should accept his apology." He then turned towards Sergio, "And you, being an heir you should know to knock on a person's door before barging in, even more so if it's a lady. Hell, if it's a girl you just don't do it, you wait outside like a gentleman." The brunet looked to the floor and nodded. Cap looked at both of us with an annoyed face before heading out, muttering something along the lines of "stupid brats" and "not a baby-sitter".

I looked after him, before glancing back at Sergio. He started to shift uncomfortably before sighing in defeat.

"I'm really sorry Ariann…" I sighed, trying to let go of my anger.

"I know… I still hate you though…"

"…I figured as much," he said with a small chuckle. I looked back to where Cap left before sighing.

"He's scary when he's mad…"

"Yeah…" With that we made the unspoken rule of 'Not pissing Cap off (extra caution when sick)'.

Soon after the stressing and embarrassing situation, we all decided to go to the pokemon center's nurse (me to get my pokemon and my two male companions in search for some pain killers). Then I went back to my room, where I stayed needing some alone time. I didn't take out my pokemon, didn't call anyone, just…laid there.

I was so far away from home. I had accomplished so many things, battled so many people, met so many pokemon, gotten my own awesome team, and yet, it was only the start. Only the beginning of an amazing journey that would probably give me a meaning in life. Be it as a trainer, or just a traveler. But it will surely be an awesome one, like my epic team.

After an hour or so, I decided to finally get some sleep. But first, food. I quickly went down to the small cafeteria where there was an old lady serving some food. I grabbed mine and retreated to the safety of my room where I could eat in peace. I locked the door and ate in silence.

After I finished I put the tray away and brushed my teeth, ready to go to sleep. Like always, I took out my precious team (except my starter). I watched as they all looked around, immediately noticing that Hope was looking at me with pleading eyes. I chuckled, picking her up and putting her on the bed with me.

"Trapinch…" she seemed to mutter as she nestled into my side. How she was still tired after being all day in her pokeball was a total mystery for me. Dread glared at her, growling before climbing into bed also, curling at the end of the bed so she wouldn't accidentally throw me off the bed when she fell asleep. Ambition floated around, looking at the bed with a small glare before settling beside it. I frowned. This bed was too small for me and my pokemon.

_"__It's not that the bed is small Mistress, it's just that they're getting bigger every day."_ Noble replied matter-of-factly as I sighed. I don't want them to sleep on the floor though… An idea suddenly hit me. I stood up, shooing Ambition out of my way as I dragged a mattress from under my bed. I put it in a corner of the room and looked at the bed where Dread was looking at me curiously.

"Would you mind getting off?" I asked her, moving towards the bed to get my Trapinch off the bed too. Once the bed was clear, I dragged that mattress off the frame and put it next to the other one on the floor. Or would have, if I had the space…

"Noble, help me move the bed frame."

After some effort and some loud noises, we managed to put the bed frame vertically, so we could actually place the mattresses next to each other. I hope the frame doesn't fall through the night and crush one of us…

I laid down near the middle, Noble quickly taking my right side as Hope snuggled to my left one with Dread. Ambition stayed at the foot of the makeshift bed, facing the door.

"Today was such an embarrassing day guys…" I mumbled as I stared at the white ceiling of the center. Noble blinked at me in confusion while tilting his head to the side. "I…Sergio barged in while I was in the bathroom… accidentally." I added as an afterthought. Dread's head snapped up, growling when she heard that. She obviously didn't like the idea of a male human touching me. "I was only changing so he didn't see anything!" I quickly amended in case my dragon-type pokemon decide to attack Sergio during our short stay. She hissed sharply, climbing up further in the bed so she rested beside my head, nuzzling against my neck. My Trapinch glared at her and seemed to complain, but Dread simply ignored her. I relaxed against the body of my female pokemon, feeling like content with just being next to her. _She's the one that understands me…_

_"__You should be more careful, Mistress. If it had been someone else…" _I shuddered, knowing well, _oh too well, _what could've happened if it had been another person instead of Sergio.

"I know Noble; I know…" I whispered as Noble's red eyes assessed me. He seemed to sigh after some time, closing his eyes and just resting there. I saw Ambition notice us from afar but he didn't seem too interested in us, since he was still facing the door and giving his back to us. I sighed, trying to lull myself to sleep like my pokemon were doing.

As my team dozed off, I started to think of Epic, and how we'll never have a chance to spend some time like this with him…

_Well it's his fault for being so big. _I scoffed, closing my eyes to rest from a stressful day.

* * *

><p>The next morning was like a movie's: the sun shining like the star it was, the bird pokemon singing happily and the breeze flowing peacefully. It was nothing compared to last night. I groaned from my place in the pokemon pile. The fact that I felt secure in it didn't make it comfortable. Dread's head was hard as a rock, Noble almost impaled me with his arm <em>twice<em> during the night and Hope had _somehow_ taken all the blanket for herself. Ambition, luckily, didn't seem to move an inch during the night.

I yawned, standing up and stretching my arms to get some feeling back in them. I sat there for a whole minute, doing nothing, when I heard someone knock on my door almost hesitantly. I grumbled as I got up, nearing the door, already having a suspicion of who it was.

"Yeah?"

"Um, A-Ariann?" Yup, it was the little perv. "Can I come in?"

"No." I bluntly replied, enjoying the uncomfortable silence that followed like the little sadist I was.

"Oh… Ehm, well, Cap wanted to know if you wanted to leave today, since it seemed like a nice day and all…" It felt weird talking to him through the door, but I couldn't bring myself to care at the moment. I didn't want to face him right now, even if I had forgiven him (it didn't make the situation less awkward). Anyways, what we had phones for? He could've sent me a message or something…

"Sure, I'll be in the lobby in a minute." I replied nevertheless, and heard his sigh from the other side of the door.

"Are you…are you still mad at me?" I frowned. I wasn't feeling angry at the moment, just really embarrassed and ashamed of myself.

"…Yes," I lied. I heard silence before a thud. He probably leaned his head against the door.

"I said I was sorry though…"

"I know."

"Then _why_—"

"I gotta get ready, see you at the lobby later." I quickly interrupted, getting away from the door and into the small bathroom so I could get ready for the day.

I changed, brushed my teeth, packed all my things, woke up all my pokemon and returned them, and looked at the messy room with a grimace. I should probably clean it up…

…

With a pokerface, I left the room. There was no Noble to reprimand me this time, so I left without any guilt or remorse. I got to the lobby to see my two companions there, Cap looking slightly better than he did yesterday and Sergio just looking…red. I narrowed my eyes before turning towards Cap.

"Do we go to the mart first?" I asked, to which he nodded with a sniff. Still had a small flu or something…

After that we decided to head towards the small mart, me heading the way so I didn't have to get stuck in the back with Sergio. That would be uncomfortable. Once outside, I noticed that the small town wasn't as deserted as it looked when we first got here. There was a little farm at the edge of it, a small pokemon day-care, a few houses and some small, simple stores. It was a pretty small town, like my home town, Sandgem Town.

We reached the store and separated to each get our own traveling supplies. I headed towards the potion aisle, taking a handful of potions (_and pokeballs, must not forget the pokeballs_), ready to head towards the counter to pay for them.

"Ariann, are you still mad at me?" Sergio appeared at my side, frowning slightly. I was so tempted to say no, that I wasn't, but I resisted. I ignored him and sidestepped him. He blocked my way, making me glare at him. "Why are you ignoring me?" I growled at him.

"Excuse me." I told him but I didn't move an inch, I didn't want to touch him. He stood his ground, staring me down, which I hated. It made me feel small and weak. I gritted my teeth and told him. "I'm not ignoring you, okay? Just get out of the way." I glared, adding a spitted "_Please_" at the end.

He frowned at me, shaking his head. As I was about to snap at him I got a clear view of the counter, where a girl from the staff was flirting with Cap. He seemed to take it at ease though, probably he's been in this situation before. I facepalmed. Well _of course_, he was hot _and_ kind _and_ easy-going! There's no way a girl wouldn't fall for his black locks and amazing blue eyes.

"Cap's so lucky…" Sergio apparently noticed my gaze, because he was also looking at Cap with an irritated look. I blinked. He wanted to be popular with girls too? _Well, he probably should stop perving on girls then, and be a fucking gentleman, _a voice in my head provided darkly, to which I narrowed my eyes in agreement. "He's getting free merchandise…" Sergio pouted and then I understood why he wanted to be popular with the girls. I couldn't help but agree with him. _I wanted to get free items too… _

_"__Shit!"_ I heard Sergio curse as he dived to the ground, a panicked look on his face as he attempted to hide behind some boxes. I blinked at him, and then looked at the empty path before me. _Oh yeah, I was taking this opportunity, no matter how bizarre it looked. _I gave him a smirk, but froze when I noticed he was looking at me with fear. I grimaced, not liking that look one bit.

"What's wrong?" I spoke quietly, nearing the stack of boxes he was hiding behind. He narrowed his pale milky eyes at the entrance, making me turn to see two men dressed in black, intimidating as hell, looking around the place as if searching for something.

"They-They're here…" he whispered, taking a deep, shaky breath to calm himself. I noticed it wasn't working so I let himself slowly explain himself. "Those men are from my father's company… they probably got a signal of me with their psychic pokemon…" He took another breath, hiding his face with his hands. "I _need_ to get out of here before they find me." I frowned. So these men were trying to take Sergio away? That would actually work for me—Wait no, no, no. Just think, Ariann. This boy meant no harm, you can't just hand him to the ghosts as tribute. Plus, he's actually _afraid_ of going back… Think, think, think…

"I can't use Noble; it would be _way_ too suspicious…" I muttered to myself, meeting his surprised eyes. Was it actually that surprising that I was helping him? Well, considering that a few seconds ago I was ignoring him… I guess it was. I ignored him, eyeing the two men near the door when an idea suddenly hit me, making me smirk slightly.

_I need some bait though…_

I glanced back at Sergio, giving him a small smirk. "I've got an idea." I told him. I took off my hoodie (knowing that I'll probably regret it later), I had a shirt under of course, and threw it at him. "Put that on and give me your eevee." He gaped at me.

"W-What?"

"Just do it!" He quickly took an ultraball out, giving it to me before putting the hoodie as quickly as he could. "Listen Sergio, I'm going to make those two walk away from the door, and you're going to _bolt_ out of here and hide at an alley or something until we come out, okay?" He nodded hurriedly, putting on the hood so he could cover his face. His hair was still visible but I guess that was okay, there were a lot of dirty blonde people on earth.

I let out his pokemon, I think her name was Samantha, and told her, "I'm going to help your trainer with something okay? So I want you to listen to me." The eevee gave Sergio an uncertain 'vee?', but when he nodded at her, she gave me a determined nod. I smiled at her. What a nice pokemon Sergio had.

"Okay Samantha, I want you to run in front of those guys and then to the farthest aisle." We were in the second one, and there were five, so it was a pretty okay distance. I just hope both of them give follow to the chase… "I'll be right behind you. Don't worry."

"Vee!" She quickly sprang into action, running towards the men at a quickly pace. I glanced back at Sergio and told him,

"Get ready."

"Erhm. Th-Thank—"

"Thank me later." I interrupted as I noticed the men (_yes both of them, wooo!)_ follow Samantha through the mart, attracting the attention of the people inside it. I quickly ran after the small eevee, my blonde hair getting in the way but I tried to ignore it. I continued running until I found myself before the two men and Sergio's pokemon. The normal-type was growling at the two men, tail still as if waiting to perform an attack. I quickly stepped in.

"Kiki!" I shouted the first girly name that came into my head, opening my arms wide to receive the small pokemon. Thankfully, the small eevee quickly followed my example and headed towards me, jumping at me with perfectly faked excitement, settling against my shoulder with a content purr. I was actually amazed at her skills. From the corner of my eye I saw a blue figure flee the mart. I smiled, turning my attention to the men in front of me. They looked…uncomfortable.

I narrowed my eyes, letting my voice pitch a few notes higher than it actually was so I sounded like those stupid annoying college girls. "What were you doing to my pokemon?" To prove a point, I also stomped my feet. The few people inside the mart were giving us their full attention, Cap was observing the whole scene unfold quietly, to which I was thankful. The men looked away, mumbling something I didn't understand. "Are you guys from Team Galactic?!" Always bring the bad guys in a confrontation and threaten to call the police. "I'm calling the police right now!" I wasn't even sure if there was a _police_ in this town.

"W-We're sorry little lady—"

"I'm not _little_!" I snarled at him, forgetting about my acting for a second to defend my pride.

"Right, Right! We're sorry! We're just searching for someone! Maybe you've seen him—"

"So you can try to take his pokemon away too?!"

"Yeah, leave the poor girl, you thieves!" I heard someone shout at them, it sounded suspiciously like Capricorn.

"Get out, you poachers!"

"Leave them lass 'lone!"

The men, obviously outnumbered, decided to flee the mart with ashamed look on their faces. Probably their stuck-up rich asses couldn't handle the situation very well. I rubbed Samantha's ear in triumph. Oh yeah, sweet victory.

"Good work Samantha," I whispered at her. She gave a cheerful cry, rubbing herself against my cheek. Oh my Arceus, why was she so cuteeeeeee! "You should go check on your trainer." She jumped off my shoulder, running towards the exit as I made my way towards Cap, who was still flirting! Oh my-Doesn't he have anything else to do?!

"Come on, just _one_ night…"

"Well…"

"Capricorn, we need to leave." I watching his red face and couldn't help but wonder _what_ they were talking about. Oh wait, I decided I didn't _want_ to know. "ASAP." I added, making the girl at the counter give me a glare which I returned wholeheartedly. Cap gave her a sheepish look and gave the woman a couple of potions, a raincoat and some painkillers to pay. I didn't even try to get my things, I just wanted to get out of this place. Since the woman at the counter was actually counting _everything_ at a _very_ slow pace I decided to get out in the meantime.

"I'll be outside with Sergio, Cap…" I muttered as I left his side, walking towards the door to escape the people's piecing gaze and more importantly to get my hoodie back. I felt weak and vulnerable without it.

I noticed a _little_ too late that leaving Cap was a very bad idea when outside, _alone_, a man suddenly neared me. I eyed him warily, trying to ignore him. But he just gave me a cheeky smirk. I backed away, intending to enter the mart once again (I prefer Cap's flirting ten times over this!) when I felt his hand circle my arm. I froze.

"Come on, I just wan' to have some fun."

My head spins, because this situation feels like _Déjà vu_. I've seen it before, heard it before, felt it before… The hands, the smirk, the eyes, the voices inside that would _hush me or it will hurt_, those **_disgusting_**_ words—the disgusting itch-! _

And once again, Ariann Roman, was weak.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: <strong>

**GUYS IM OUT FROM COLLEGE! Woooooooo! By the way, I passed hellish Chemistry! Double woooo! Anyways, my other computer broke so I lost all my TE files lol. But I bought a new one! So hurray for that too!**

**Em, Im being way to happy for that ending aren't I? I'm probably going to update this story more regularly now to make up for those months of agonizing terror (at least for me).**

**If you're at college you understand me, if you're not: Enjoy your life before you lose it to college!**

**Anyways, I think that it. Hope you liked the pretty long chapter;) **

**Next Chapter will be Sergio's POV :**

**An: OUT! **


	31. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Sergio looked around nervously from his hiding place beside the store. He had seen the two men go out earlier, frustrated for some reason. He only hoped Ariann's plan worked on her behalf too.

He really, really, didn't want to leave. Not when he finally found people that understood him. People that didn't treat him differently, people that were willing to put their safety in risk for him. Friends. Obviously, he has had friends before, but not like _these_. These were willing to fight with him, his other friends only talked to him because of his father's influence and asked him favors; they didn't share the same passions he had: traveling and battling.

He smiled as he thought of his two new friends. Cap, on the exterior, the good-looking guy that was nice and loved by everyone. But deep inside, an idiot who couldn't shelter himself from a simple cold. Then there's Ariann. He frowned. He didn't know what to think of her. She was a walking enigma, with a hoodie and all. She seemed distant and cold, _indifferent,_ towards people, but she actually _cared_. That Sergio was sure of, since she had actually saved him today even after the…situation…they previously had (Something Sergio didn't want to talk about…). And at the cost of her own hoodie, something she obviously loved since she never seemed to take it off. But not only did she care, she was also independent, sure of herself, _strong_. _How could she be so strong…_

Sergio sighed. _'I wish I were a little more like her…' _he thought with a sad smile.

"Vee!"

He blinked, smiling slightly when his starter, Samantha, neared him happily. He had loved the hyper evolution pokemon the moment it was introduced to him. Sometimes she was way too happy for his taste, but today he appreciated the cheeriness.

"Samantha, how did it went?" he asked her, crouching so she could climb to her usual place by his shoulder. Today though, she settled atop his head. He righted himself before standing back up.

"Vee!"

"I'll take that as a good sign then." He chuckled, rubbing her behind the ears. She purred happily, making him smile. Looks like things went well for them… He then frowned. _'I have to think of something before they get too close… I… I don't want to go back yet…'_ His new friends had fueled his rebel spirit, encouraging him to continue living his life like he wanted to. He didn't want to live like an heir, he just wanted to be him. A _person_, not just another puppet for his father's plans.

Once he was sure the men were gone, he slowly left his hiding place, hoodie over his head just in case. He saw Ariann talking with some guy and had to suppress the urge to scowl. He didn't like the idea of Ariann talking with someone else, it seemed to infuriate him somehow.

_'__No, I'm not jealous. She's just a friend.'_ He often found himself thinking when she talked to Cap in private or between the lines about something he didn't know. And in this moment, he was telling himself that same thing.

He heard his partner growl. He lifted his blue eyes to look at the eevee only to found her flashing her teeth at the duo before him. He frowned. Samantha wasn't usually a violent one, so why…

Ariann was shaking.

He hadn't noticed due to the distance, but now that he was closer he could see it very clearly. Her whole frame was trembling like a leaf, which made him frown. Ariann was strong, what was affecting her?

He neared her quickly, earning a glare from the man she was talking to. Though looking closely at the situation, they didn't seem to be talking since the man was gripping Ariann's arm with a vice grip while she looked ready to bolt. He returned the glare without hesitation, standing beside the small girl in case she needed his support.

"Ariann are you—" As he was about to ask, he noticed her face. She was dazed, her eyes wide and horrified, while she stared at nothingness with unshed tears. Her lips trembled slightly on her pale face, mouthing words he couldn't comprehend or hear. What…What happened to her? She looked like she was trapped in a horrible nightmare! So…vulnerable…

So…Broken….

He turned towards the man, giving him an angry sneer.

"What did you do to her?" The man just smirked, stumbling slightly as he slurred something Sergio couldn't quite comprehend. This just infuriated him more. This stupid drunkard! "Keep your hands off her!" he snarled as he pulled Ariann's form towards him.

The good thing? The disgusting bastard let go of her. The bad thing? She lashed out at _him_. She turned towards him with angry teary eyes as she pushed him away with enough force to almost make him fall. After he righted himself he stared at her with wide eyes.

"_Let me go…"_ She hissed with so much hate it worried him. She took deep uneven breaths as if to calm herself as she scratched at a spot on her neck. "_Disgusting_…" She muttered with a sneer.

Sergio stood there shocked, not knowing what to do. Did he do something wrong? He was just trying to help her!

"Hey! I fun' 'er first!" the man slurred with an angry frown. Ariann took shaky steps back, muttering things under her breath as she was once again consumed by the past. Sergio wanted to know what was going on, he craved it like no other thing, but now was not the time to ask questions. He blocked the man's path to Ariann, giving him a glare.

"She's my friend, leave her alone." Samantha growled lowly in warning, secretly making him happy because at least he had some support. The man straightened, looking at Sergio with an incredulous look.

"Whut? You wanna stahp me with tha' furrball!" he then laughed, pissing Sergio off and apparently Samantha too. The eevee gave a snarl as she jumped at the older male, snarling and clawing at his face with all her might. The man shouted in surprise, stumbling back, trying to pry her off his face. He managed to accomplish the task rather quickly, but he sustained scratches and blood all over his face. Samantha landed in front of Sergio looking proud of her work.

"What happened here?" Sergio hadn't noticed, but they had managed to attract quite the crowd. '_This is bad…'_ He thought in panic. His father's men could be near, or could've discovered him already. But he couldn't leave Ariann alone, not when he knew she was in trouble. Cap, who asked the question, was looking at them with wide eyes. Then his blue eyes settled on Ariann and he quickly headed to her side.

"Wait! Don't touch her!" Sergio shouted in warning only to receive a glare from Cap.

"I know kid, I'm not an idiot." Sergio winced at the accusation. Maybe he _was_ the idiot here… "Ari, look at me. You're here with me, at Solaceon Town. He's not here, remember? I'm your knight, right? I'll protect you…" Cap cooed softly, somehow managing to pull her out of her trance. Her eyes finally focused at his face, filling with recognition and relief (and selfishly, Sergio decided he wanted to have that kind of relationship with her).

"Cap…" She whispered with teary eyes, he gave her one of his warm smiles.

"You're okay, don't worry Ari. I got you…" He didn't try to give her physical comfort, _he knew better than that_, just mental. Ariann hugged herself while taking a shaky breath.

"Horn Dril'!" A shout warned Sergio before he saw a raging Tauros slam with a terrifying strength against his small eevee. He winced, calling out to Samantha to check if she was okay. She shakily stood up, making him sigh in relief. "Again!"

"Samantha dodge!" he quickly turned back to Cap and Ariann. "We got to go now." Cap gave Ariann worried glance before standing up.

"Ari…"

"I know Cap; I'm going…" She quickly said, getting up but keeping her head down. Sergio frowned, but decided to not ask at the moment.

"I'll keep him occupied, don't worry." Sergio said, turning back to Samantha to find her unconscious. He gave a grimace while he returned her. Well, that didn't go along with the plan—

"Get that brat otta way!" Sergio paled when he noticed the form of the wild bull pokemon nearing him fast. He turned around to run when an unknown pokemon blocked his path. 'No way!' he thought in despair as the other grew neared to him. He closed his eyes, expecting the blow to be as painful as they come, but he only felt a push and heard a dull thud.

He opened his eyes tentatively, watching the scene before him with confusion.

The unknown pokemon that had blocked his way was now standing between the Tauros and him, protecting the dirty blonde boy and itself with a magical barrier. The Tauros returned to its trainer's side after the failed attack, stomping the ground in anger. The Protect spell wore off after that, giving Sergio the chance of getting away from the unknown pokemon.

He scrambled towards Cap and Ariann, giving the unknown pokemon yet another confused glance. '_Where did it come from? Obviously it is not from around here… It must have a trainer…'_ As if called by his thoughts, a raven haired girl emerged from the crowd. She was tall, tanned, and held herself with pride. She was obviously an experienced trainer (or maybe just an idiot).

She gave the man a cocky grin.

"Picking on defenseless kids? What a weakling." She scoffed as she passed Sergio's side to stand beside her pokemon, one Sergio remembered to be a Cacturne. The pokemon crossed its arms, shaking his head in disapproval. The man sneered.

"Shutahp! I' show ya weak'!" The girl smirked.

"That's it, play with me." She whispered, giving Sergio a discreet wink.

He quickly caught on to that: Now it's your cue to leave. He nodded at her, heading towards his two friends with the intention of leaving. He met them when he heard the two pokemon cry as they clashed against each other.

"Let's go." Cap told them when he got to their side. Sergio watched as Ariann followed wordlessly, keeping her head down at all times and making her blond hair cover her face. Her cap was still in place, but her bangs covered her eyes like a curtain. He was worried about her.

"Ariann…" She didn't seem to be paying him attention, or maybe she hadn't heard him. Either way, Sergio decided to not test his luck with her again today. He still felt hurt from where she had sneered at him like he had some kind of contagious disease…

"We should go to the Pokemon Center so you can heal your eevee…" Cap said, looking at Sergio with a small frown. Sergio lowered his head. Cap obviously wanted to leave this place as soon as possible (he _knew_ because he wanted to leave this stupid place to ease Ariann if only a little), but Sergio was keeping them here because of his poor pokemon trainer skills… If only he had paid more attention to his pokemon they wouldn't have to make a stop at the Center…

"I'm not blaming you Sergio, don't worry." _But I am_. Cap tried to reassure him, smiling lightly and ruffling his hair to lighten the mood. Sergio wasn't up to any cheery talk, so he just sighed and continued to walk towards the Center.

Once they got there, Sergio gave Samantha's pokeball to the nurse and then joined Cap and Ariann at a table on the lobby to wait for the healing of his pokemon. Ariann excuse herself to the bathroom soon after that, making Sergio frown and Cap stare after her worriedly.

When she was out of sight Sergio debated his next course of action. He knew that asking Ariann won't get him a thing, the small blonde was stubborn as hell, but _Cap_… With Cap he had a chance… Sergio wanted to ask what was going on, why she snapped at him all out a sudden, why she was in such a poor state… But he didn't want to look like a meddling brat. He was just worried at her; he was her friend after all. So he took a deep breath, deciding to drop the bomb without beating around the bush.

"What happened to Ariann?" Cap, who was looking at a magazine he had found, froze while passing a page. He quickly composed himself, giving Sergio ad unbelievably _fake_ smile.

"What are you talking about?" Sergio gritted his teeth, trying to restrain himself in order to not snap at the older teen.

"You _know_ what I'm talking about, Cap. She just… froze. Like she was trapped in her own mind, in a _nightmare_. She looked so different, so…weak…" He finished, admitting that he has seen her look weak, not like her usual strong self. Because that's what he had seen: weakness. A weakness like no other seen in her by him. Cap stayed silent, frowning hard at the magazine page, deep in thought. Sergio looked down, feeling disappointment wash all over his being. Maybe Cap won't tell him after all…

"Y'know…" Sergio's head snapped up, watching as Cap gave the magazine a sad, sad smile. All of a sudden, Sergio didn't want to know anymore. But there was no going back on this. He _had_ to know. For his friend, so he could protect her like Cap does! "Ari and I didn't travel together since the very beginning of our journey."

"You're kidding?" He asked Cap in shock. They looked so close… They haven't been together for long? Cap nodded.

"Yeah, we met at Oreburgh. I still remember it: I had asked her if she wanted to trade Hope. Right now, I'm happy she refused." Cap laughed bitterly. Sergio nodded in understatement. He has only met the pokemon once, but those big jaws almost ate his face that one rainy night… He shuddered. Cap continued. "Anyways, after that, I took on the gym leader of Oreburgh, it was an easy fight with my tropius, and decided I was ready to take on the route. So I went for it. It was a nice day to travel, the sun was shining and the skies were clear…" Cap's blue eyes darkened, and his voice took a somber tone. "Then I heard the shrieks." Sergio was about to ask what he was talking about but it seemed like Cap was trying to cope with his feelings at the moment.

After some time, Cap took a deep breath and continued. "I headed towards the sound and saw that it was a trainer's pokemon. It was trying desperately to help its trainer, who was being choked by some…some _thugs_." Sergio winced, but Cap wasn't over. "When I told my pokemon to help I noticed… I noticed that they weren't trying to just choke the trainer to her death but… but _rape_ her too… That man—no, that fucking monster, already had the poor kid half undressed…" Sergio closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as anger coursed through him. That's so despicable, to do that to a kid… But how does Ariann fit in all of—no… Cap let out a bitter laugh, smiling cruelly at Sergio with pain in his eyes. '_No, it can't be…_' "It's disgusting how people act like monsters towards their own kind… How distrustful we humans really are. And Ari…had to learn that the hard way." He finished with a sad sigh.

Sergio was too weak to say anything. He knew it was bad, but he didn't know it was _this_ bad… No wonder she didn't like human contact… and her face today! This explained it all!

"Ari has androphobia because of that incident. She fears men more than anything else and finds it very hard to trust them. She always tries to look strong, to not show her weaknesses, but she's just a _child_." Cap suddenly stood up, glaring down at Sergio in a way that made him feel smaller than he actually was. "I love Ariann as if she were my own sister and I would do anything for her without any hesitation. I've earned her trust and she has earned my loyalty." His eyes suddenly narrowed, looking deadly. Sergio gulped. _Why was asking Cap a good idea, again?_ "If you do _anything_ to hurt her, I swear to every god out there I won't have any mercy on you. Even if you are the heir of the Strongsea. Even if you're my friend." Sergio flinched at the harsh tone, looking at the table to not meet Cap's eyes.

"I would never…" Sergio whispered. Why would he hurt her? She was a friend! Friends are cherished not hurt! A hand touched his head, making Sergio flinch, expecting the pain to come. Instead, he received a ruffle of his dirty blonde hair. Tentatively he opened his eyes (_when had he closed them?)_ to meet Cap's, who had a sharp grin on his face.

"A warning to keep in mind just in case."

After that, the nurse called Sergio's name to give him his pokemon back. Sergio thanked Arceus for the timing, getting up and picking his pokemon to get some Cap-Free time. Seriously, the raven haired male could be scary when he wanted to…

But Ariann… It all made sense now, why she was so wary, so tense, so cold, so elusive, so _strong_. Because she was strong, to walk and spend time with men, _befriend_ them, while not giving away the fear she felt for them… She was amazing.

Smiling slightly, he returned to Cap's side, taking out his eevee to see if she could cheer Ariann up. His physical contact might not help her, but Samantha's surely will. The small energy ball quickly jumped on the table, greeting Cap with a playful lick before settling on Sergio's shoulder.

It took approximately ten minutes for Ariann to come out of the bathroom. It was understandable in Sergio's opinion. She just needed time to gather her thoughts, feelings, and courage to continue on her traveling. She met them with a nod, making Sergio smile. _At least she's back to normal now…_ Two of her pokemon came with her, the fierce and protective gabite at the rear and the loyal gallade at her side. _Maybe her pokemon helped her calm down… _

Or just made her feel secure.

The Strongsea heir smiled at her but she just glared at him. He grimaced. _'Please don't tell me she's still upset about _that_… I swear I didn't even _see_ that much!' _

"Um…I'm sorry—"

"I want my hoodie back." She told him with a scowl. He blinked. The hoodie…? Ahhhhh! The hoodie!

"Right! Sure, here!" he quickly scrambled to take off the hoodie, dropping Samantha off his shoulder without meaning to. Thankfully, Ariann's gallade caught her before she hit the floor. After struggling with the piece of cloth, he gave her the hoodie with a grin. "Thank you, you know, for everything."

She took the hoodie, avoiding contact with his fingers (_why hadn't he noticed this before_?) with a nod, a light shade of pink adorning her cheeks.

"S-Sure…"

"Vee!" A purr interrupted them. They both turned to see Samantha rubbing herself against the blade pokemon's chest. The noble pokemon couldn't look more perplexed.

_"__Mistress…" _

"I think she fell for you. Get it? _Fell_." Cap said, grinning at them at his stupid pun. Sergio snickered slightly while Ariann stared at her pokemon with a smirk of her own.

"Won't you look at that Dread. Noble already has a fan." The dragon-type pokemon at her side nodded with a dutiful 'bite'. Noble glared at them both.

_"__Mistress!" _

"They'll probably have babies too… You'll be an aunt! And I'll be…a grandmother? That makes me sound old…" She frowned. Sergio shook his head at her antics.

"_Don't encourage her Mistress!"_

"Does that mean you two will be in-laws?" Cap asked with a tilt of his head. Sergio thought of it. If his two pokemon hooked together, Ariann and him will be pretty much in-laws…

"Love at first sight…" Ariann continued, ignoring Cap's comment. Sergio frowned at that, but didn't comment on it. This was Ariann after all. It's not like he could demand her to do anything. She did what she wanted, that didn't change.

_"__Mistress…" _

"Vee?" Samantha looked at Noble cutely, tilting her head to the side with a pouty mouth. Sergio resisted the urge to facepalm, she has made the face to him twice, and he could never say no to that. _Good luck on that one, Noble._

"Awww, don't worry, Noble is just shy!" Ariann rushed to his small pokemon, petting her to keep her happy. She gave Noble an evil smirk. "Isn't that right, Noble?" The gallade just gave a solemn nod.

Sergio sometimes wonders how Ariann got the poor pokemon. Maybe one day he'll find the courage to ask her more about herself.

"We should be going now guys." Cap said. Ariann nodded, putting on her hoodie and reading her cap. Sergio just watched them all with a smile. He was going to miss this when he returned home… but for now, he was going to cherish this moment and live as happy as he could. His eyes lingered on Ariann. But not only live. No, he was going to protect too.

He was going to stop thinking about himself, about his life, about his problems, and focus on someone else's for once.

He was going to protect her and earn her trust.

No matter what.

**An: START! **

**Well people Im done! **

**I might try to write a chritsmas oneshot special but one never knows. Im a little crazy in the head. **

**Anyways, I hoped you guys liked this chapter. It mostly shows Sergio's thoughts and POV but it also shows a little of Cap's… **

**To those who reviewed, I love you guys to pieces. You made this update faster, so cheers for you. Next one will be within a week and we're going to introduce a new character! Cheers for her—ooops spoiers XD**

**PS. Anyone heard Keep your hands off my girl, by Good Charlotte? I remembered this song while writing this chapter for some reason lol(If you haven't listened to it, you should…)**

**AN end!**


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